To mark the 2023 Africa Anti-Corruption Day and the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC), the Center joined stakeholders at an event organized by the Inter Agency Task Team (IATT) with support from the MacArthur Foundation, UNODC and CDD.
The event which was moderated by the Center’s Executive Director, Umar Yakubu presented an opportunity for key stakeholders in the nation’s anti-corruption environment to report progress and discuss prospects and ways to enhance the implementation of the AUCPCC in line with the year’s theme.
Given the debilitating impact of corruption in the continent, stakeholders agree that there is the need for more cooperation, and member states are enjoined to strengthen institutional capacity to enforce anti-corruption legislations. On national front, participants believe that citizens must own the fight against corruption by assisting with reporting acts of corruption. Consequently, the new government was urged to expedite the passage of the Whistleblower and Witness Protection bills.
After 20 years of the AUCPCC, stakeholders were also urged to demonstrate courage, initiate and sustain international cooperation to align with global best practices, while also looking inward to develop homemade strategies in line with the continent’s unique challenges.
The Center looks forward to working with stakeholders on Nigeria’s implementation of the principles and pillars of the AUCPCC in such areas as preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, and international cooperation.