By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), has called for better funding and resourcing of Anti-Corruption agencies in the sub-region, recognizing that adequate human and material resources are essential for the effective discharge of their mandates.
This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by Demola Bakare, Ag. Director, Public Enlightenment and Education/
Spokesperson for the Commission.
It said the call was made in a communique signed and issued by the President of NACIWA, Olanipekun Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), at the end of the 6th Annual General Assembly (AGA), tagged “Implementing the ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight against Corruption towards Strengthening Institutions for Regional Unity, which took place at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja recently.
The document also advocated for the urgent need for the development of comprehensive guidelines for the full implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol on the fight against corruption, in order to bring it in line with other international instruments such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the African Union (AU) Convention Against Corruption.
It further called on the ECOWAS Commission to expedite the establishment of a Technical Commission for the effective implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol on the fight against corruption, offering NACIWAS’s expertise and support in this endeavor.
Furthermore, in the communique, the sub-region resolved to pursue the harmonization of legal and regulatory frameworks across the region to prevent safe havens for corrupt individuals and facilitate more effective cross-border anti-corruption efforts.
