Osinbajo attends OGP week opening ceremony, details FG's efforts in fighting corruption
- The Open Government Partnership week 2018 kicked off on Monday, May 7, in Abuja
- The week-long event taking place at the NAF Conference Centre will end on Friday, May 11
- A detailed explanation on the anti-corruption campaign of the Buhari administration was given by VP Osinbajo at the event
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that over N100 billion has been recovered by the federal government in its whistle-blowing programme as at March 2018.
Osinbajo made the disclosure on Monday, May 7, while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) week 2018 in Abuja.
The vice president said the programme had seen recoveries of N7.8 billion, $378 million and 27,800 pounds sterling, which amounts to one hundred and forty-three billion, eight hundred ninety-three million, five hundred sixty thousand naira (N143,893,560).
Giving an insight into the anti-corruption campaign of the federal government, Osinbajo said: "Our government has adopted a two step approach to dealing with this scourge of systemic corruption. The first is to stop grand corruption and the accompanying impunity. The second step and the more enduring one is what this week is about, creating a self- sustaining system that assures transparency and accountability.
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“We have, since we assumed office three years ago, made remarkable progress in pushing the frontiers of transparency and accountability in the federal government. One of the first things that the President did when we took office was to establish the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), to coordinate our reforms in this regard.
“We inherited a Treasury Single Account (TSA) system that existed mainly as an idea, without the appetite for serious implementation. Since the presidential order by President Buhari in August 2015, we have made remarkable progress in expanding the reach of the TSA, so that today, we are almost at 100 percent compliance.”
The vice president also stated that the Buhari administration is actively leveraging technology in to underpin the president's commitment to accountable governance.
He made mention of the TSA, the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), National Open Contracting Platform (NOCOPO) developed by the Bureau for Public Procurement and the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC)'s Public Private Partnerships (PPP) contracts disclosure portal launched in September 2017 as examples.
He added that the successes recorded from the implementation of the OGP framework have contributed in no small measure to the improvement in the perception of Nigeria's business environment by investors, businesses, and the international community.
“As we make progress at the federal level, we are also working with the states, through the subnational engagement framework under the OGP National Action Plan, to improve transparency, accountability and citizen participation at other levels of governance.
“There is no doubt that governments who seek to earn and sustain the trust of citizens must learn to maintain high standards of transparency. The role of the OGP in pushing for and achieving these high standards is evident, and wholly deserving of commendation,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Osinbajo has assured all Nigerians that they would share in the benefits that would accrue as the Buhari administration continues to serve.
Osinbajo made the comment at the APC ward congress in Eti Osa local government where he had observed the congress at the Wards A & B - Agungi Ajiran, and Ikate Elegusi in the LGA respectively.
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Source: Legit.ng
