ICPC, Chairman, Emmanuel Ayoola

Retired Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, the Chairman of the ICPC, said on Wednesday that the war against corruption must succeed for the country to tackle poverty.

Ayoola made the statement in Owerri during a one million-man march against corruption, organised by the Imo chapter of the National Anti-Corruption Volunteer Corps (NAVC).

He noted that corruption stood between the nation’s abundant resources and the benefits which the people were entitled to derive from them.

“We must strive to reverse the situation in which corruption has turned the abundance of our resources into a curse,” he said.

The chairman said the anti-graft commission was delighted with President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to the fight against the menace and needed the support of all.

He, however, said that “it is our expectation that the renewed commitment to the fight will manifest in government stepping up its commitment to the fight by funding it adequately than hitherto.”

Ayoola charged members of the corps not to derail from the philosophy behind its establishment.

According to him, the philosophy of NAVC is, “if you are concerned about corruption, do something about it.

“Today, I give members of NAVC a new charge; service, not power or status; pursuit of value, not of material gain.”

The commission chairman said the NAVC was a Nigerian people’s movement against greed, corruption and the lack of integrity, which would ultimately lead every citizen to embrace
integrity.

He commended the Imo chapter of the corps for organising the sensitisation rally, saying it signified the commitment of the people to the anti-corruption fight.

The Head of NAVC in the state, Mr Rowland Dandy, said the war against the menace could not be won if it was left for the government and civil society organisations alone.

He recalled that the chapter was inaugurated in 2009, saying that it had improved steadily in its activities.

Dandy called on the Imo Government to support the corps’ campaign against corruption by providing it with logistics to enhance its operations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the one million-man march, which held at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, was well attended by the people, as well as members of the corps and government officials.

(NAN)

Nigerian Bar Association

Mr Vincent Ezeugwu, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nsukka branch, has urged the U.S. government to reconsider its decision to include Nigeria on its watch list of 14 terrorist nations.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka on Wednesday that it was unfair for the U.S. government to punish 140 million Nigerians because of the recent attempted terrorist attack by a Nigerian suspect.

“Nigerians from all walks of life have already condemned the criminal attempt by Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up an American airline on Dec. 25, 2009 in Detroit. There is no basis including Nigeria on the U.S. terrorist watch list.

“The U.S. government should, in the interest of justice, de-list Nigeria from its terrorist watch list,”  he said.

Ezeugwu explained that ” if it was true that the suspect’s father informed the U.S. embassy of the unruly behaviour of his son, It was a security lapse on the part of America to have allowed him access into the airport.

“If the embassy had circulated the information, the suspect would have been arrested before the unfortunate incident.”

Ezeugwu urged the Federal Government to explore every diplomatic avenue to ensure that Nigeria was removed from the terrorist watch list.

“We must recognise that both the U.S. and Nigeria enjoy cordial relations.They should not allow the singular action to create a misunderstanding between them,” he said.