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Senate President, Senator David
Mark, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief
Emeka Anyaoku and elder statesman and PRONACO
chieftain, Chief Anthony Enahoro are among a sea of
distinguished Nigerians who will grace the
South-West launch of the Anti-Corruption Revolution
Campaign, ANCOR, of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, EFCC, holding in Lagos on
Tuesday.
A statement by Femi Babafemi,
EFCC`s head of media and publicity says the
launch is the second phase of the anti-corruption
sensitization initiative of the EFCC aimed at
ensuring the public ownership of the war against
corruption. Lagos state governor, Raji Fashola
together with his counterparts in all the South-West
states will also be in attendance. Others are
captains of industries, civil society
organizations, students’ groups, the diplomatic
corps, religious leaders and other interest groups.
Former Petroleum Resources Minister, Professor Tam
David West will deliver a keynote address on :
Imperatives of Citizens’ Involvement in
Anti-Corruption Crusade, at the occasion.
The EFCC’s mandate,
according to Babafemi has a two-pronged objective of
preventing and prosecuting all acts of economic and
financial crimes, including all corrupt practices.
ANCOR seeks to mobilize all Nigerians to work in
concert with the EFCC in its preventive actions
against corrupt practices. Its vision specifically
is to make all Nigerians take an active and
determined stand against corruption in all their
public and private dealings.
At its maiden launch in Abuja
last year, President Umaru Yar’adua charged all
Nigerians to join hands with the EFCC in its onerous
task of ridding the nation of corrupt practices. He
specifically called for the removal of the
controversial immunity clause from the constitution.
The clause shields the President, the Vice-president
and all the 36 state governors and their deputies
from being prosecuted for any acts of corruption
while in office.
The President insisted that
removing the clause from the constitution will make
those enjoying it to be more circumspect in
governing the people while at the same time making
it possible for Nigerians to take them up on any
issue of corruption. This position was well-received
by the mammoth crowd that converged at the Musa
Yar’adua Centre, Abuja, where ANCOR was originally
launched.
Since the maiden launch, the
response of Nigerians to the anti-corruption war has
been overwhelming. Many Nigerians now see the
anti-corruption war as their war and are responding
positively to the clarion of ANCOR. It is this
response that the EFCC wants to consolidate on by
launching the second-phase of the campaign in the
South-West. ANCOR will be launched in all the
geo-political zones of the nation.
In stating the position of the
EFCC concerning ANCOR, EFCC Chairman, Mrs Farida
Waziri, says that no longer should Nigerians fold
their hands and watch their common wealth plundered,
stolen, mis-managed or corruptly handled by leaders
who swore to an oath of honesty and integrity. The
time is ripe for Nigerians to take their destiny in
their own hands and the best way to express this is
to enlist in the war against corruption.
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