ECOWAS meets on status of corruption fight

The delocalised meeting of the Joint Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and Gender, Women Empowerment, Social Protection, Legal and Judicial Affairs would hold from Aug. 6 to Aug. 10 at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The theme of the meeting is Status of Implementation of ECOWAS Protocol A/P3/12/01 on the Fight Against Corruption: ECOWAS Parliament’s contribution thereto’.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the protocol on the fight against corruption was signed in Dakar Dec. 21, 2001 and adopted by the Authority of Heads of States and Government.

The protocol is to join the efforts of the States in the fight against corruption by adopting preventive and suppressive measures against persons who engage in acts of corruption in the exercise of their public and private functions.

Mr Eyesan Okorodudu, Head, Democracy and Good Governance Division of ECOWAS Commission, said that the meeting was part of the commission’s effort to talk to the parliament on the level of implementation of the relevant part of the protocol.

He said that there are so many aspect of the protocol it want to push out, for parliamentarian to implore the executive arm of government to exercise more political will to get it operational.

Okorodudu said that one of the key protocol was Article 5, which is the preventive measures.

“Under the preventive measures, we are looking at measures that will ensure transparency, efficiency in procurement, processes, disposal of goods, works and services, recruitment of personnel into public services that is very interesting to us.”

According to him, the ECOWAS Protocol A/P3/12/01 on the Fight Against Corruption was designed towards preventing corruption within member States.

“The protocol is actually designed to promote and strengthen our development among the State parties in their efforts towards preventing corruption and also creating opportunity for State parties to have bilateral relations.

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“To harmonise their efforts in promoting accountability and transparency around integrity governance processes, till date we have nine member States that has signed, it means the protocol has come into effect.

“Its gone beyond the threshold about eight but when you have nine that has signed, it has come into force. What should concern must of the member States is that its already enforced which means all the State parties in the region should start enforcing the contents provided in the protocol,” he said.