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Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Nigerian women can play a greater role in the fight against corruption, Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said.
Ganduje, speaking at a Stakeholders’ Meeting on Gender and Corruption on Second Corruption Survey Report in Nigeria held in the state, maintained the approach is timely and apt given that women are generally perceived to be less corrupt than men.
The meeting was aimed at familiarising stakeholders with the data, dissemination, popularisation and promotion of better analysis and understanding of the content of the report as well as to strengthen actions toward the prevention of gender-corruption in Nigeria.
The Governor said that Kano has an effective anti-corruption agency, which, according to him, is second to none among states with similar agencies, adding that the state anti-corruption agency was not only functional but takes on its responsibilities without interference from other bodies or interests.
Ganduje recalled that “a serving commissioner was sacked because of the activities of this commission. Not only that. There was a permanent secretary who also lost his position because of the activities of this anti-graft body.”
In his remarks, the representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Dr Oliver Stolpe, commended the government for its efforts in strengthening institutions that fight corruption, while urging the Governor to continue to support the state Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
“We should all understand that strengthening institutions is also a key in this herculean task ahead of all of us,” Stolpe stated.
