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From Idu Jude Abuja
The Director General National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, (NESREA) Dr. Innocent Barikor, has said that the agency, must take a holistic approach towards clean environment including working ethics of its staff.
The DG, who remarked this during the review and validation workshop for the draft Code of Conduct held in Abuja recently, said that the agency is in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, (UNODC), to develop a Code of Conduct to guide the behavior work ethics of its Staff.
Dr. Innocent Barikor said that this has become very important due to the role the Agency plays in protecting the environment, which necessitates the adoption of standards and guidelines to govern the actions of staff.
Dr. Barikor stated, “The Code of Conduct is being developed as part of the corruption risk assessment and mitigation for frontline wildlife and forest authorities in Nigeria. It aligns with the implementation of the strategic objectives of Article 5 of the National Strategy to Combat Wildlife and Forest Crimes in Nigeria 2022-2026.
“Institutions of this nature must be able to display certain qualities and identify certain basic strategies in the pursuit of their mandate. The code of conduct will address issues of ethics, and promote professionalism, mutual respect, and integrity, while ensuring equity and instilling a sense of responsibility.”
The National Programme Officer, Office on Corruption Risk Mitigation, of the UNODC, Mr. Francis Umendiego, while welcoming participants, applauded NESREA for seeking to entrench Code of Conduct for staff, saying it would further improve efforts to tackle wildlife trafficking in the country.
The development of the Code was facilitated by an Anti-Corruption and Ethics Consultant, Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa, who called on staff to abide by the provisions of Code to ensure maximum output and improves service delivery.
