Th Independent Corrupt Practices and other-related Offences Commission on Tuesday in Kaduna lamented the widespread corruption in public service.The ICPC alleged that a majority of local government council officials were siphoning public funds.The commission also alleged that council chairmen recklessly disbursed funds from the councils votes as patronage to their supporters without regard for accountability.According to ICPC Acting Chairman, Mr. Bako Abdullahi, the anti-graft body has reports on how public funds were frivolously disbursed by civil servants and other public office holders.Abdullahi said in his message to the participants at a three-day training workshop on the Principles and Practice of Organisational Systems Study and Review for members of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units in ministries, departments and agencies, that the practice had become alarming.The ICPC boss, who was represented at the event organised by the African Diaspora Initiative by the commissions Secretary, Mr. Oglafa Elvis, said, "Corruption within the public service is widespread and involves common occurrences of delayed files, making wrong claims, favouritism, truancy, outright demand for bribes, abuse of office, which are all systemic in nature."Available reports also indicate that public funds are commonly disbursed frivolously for personal gains. In some cases, fictitious contracts are awarded just to siphon funds from votes. "These practices are carried out brazenly and with impunity. Indeed, it would appear that many public servants today do not even know that these practices define the inefficiency of the service or that they are wrong or are part of what constitute corrupt practices for which the country is now internationally notorious."For these reasons, it is clear that it will be unrealistic to expect someone or some agency from the outside to be able to identify its ramifications and varieties of these practices. The cleansing must be from within. It must be emphasised that not every public servant is corrupt; there are many clean ones and it behoves on everyone to labour to redeem the image of the public service. "The public service is the window through which the outside world glimpses into any nation and an efficient and corruption free public service gives a positive signal to the seriousness of the country to do business with the rest of the world."Abdullahi appealed to the ACTU officers in various MDAs to be conscientious in the fight against corruption and other malpractices in their organisations.According to him, this will go a long way in ensuring success in Nigerias anti-graft crusade.He said, "The duty you have been called upon to perform is sacred. The war against corruption is a titanic struggle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness for the control of the soul of the largest black nation in the world."
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