To further boost accountability and transparency in its affairs, the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (OSGoF) has inaugurated its Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) which is an initiative of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC). Â The oath of office for the 8-member of staff nominated to serve in the unit was administered by Barr. Bimpe Abodunrin of the ICPC.
In his goodwill message, the Honourable Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN said ACTU was approved by the Federal Government to serve as an in-house mechanism for prevention of corruption in MDAs in line with global best practices to build strong institutions as well as to institutionalizing good governance. The unit according to him was to complement ICPC in entrenching the principles of accountability and transparency in MDAs.
Prof. Owasanoye who was represented by Ademola Bakare pinpointed that the unit was expected to conduct systems study and review of processes and procedures in OSGoF in order to make appropriate recommendations to block corruption loopholes including continuous sensitization of staff on and against the ills of corruption, implement code of ethics and preliminary investigations into complaints received.
He says, “ACTU is not set up as a parallel authority to the management, rather they are to work closely with management to build a reputable organization.
While soliciting management’s support for the funding and smooth operations of the unit, the ICPC boss commended the Surveyor General of the Federation (SGoF), members of management and staff for making the inauguration and induction of members of the ACTU a reality. He implored members of the unit to exhibit high ethical standards while working as a team to maintain discipline and accountability in OSGoF.
Earlier, the SGoF, Surv. Samuel Adeniran Taiwo who expressed deep appreciation to the ICPC for its promotion of accountability and transparency in public affairs lamented the ignorance about the importance of surveying and mapping.
Surv. Taiwo explained that it was part of the responsibility of OSGoF to provide the model of a country and the geospatial information that represents every each space within the country. He said leaders could only make good decisions when they have proper ideas of their environment and things therein.
He added that OSGoF collaborates with the National Boundary Commission to administer the 86 state boundaries of the country and 4 international land and about 5 maritime boundaries.
OSGoF according to him has been repositioned to provide MDAs with their geospatial requirements to effective planning and implementation of projects.
In her acceptance speech, Chairman of the ACTU, Mrs. Agatha Chinwe Ekekezie thanked the management for the confidence repose in them and pledged their commitment towards supporting the leadership in engendering the ideals of accountability and transparency in the Office.
Other members of the unit include, Ebere Odocha, Collins N. Oduah, Nwanze Nneka, and Gorafo Godwin. Others are Surv. Falade Oluwole, Felix Adang and Salihu Yelwa Abdullahi.
Signed:
Abu, I. Michael
Head of Press and Public Relations
