CSOs, Media Form Coalition to Support Edo State Anti-Curruption Strategy.

By Lucky Isibor.

Media and Civil Society stakeholders in Edo state have formed a coalition in a bid to effectively support  the actualization of the objectives of the Edo State Integrity and Accountability Strategy (EDSIAS) to promote transparency and accountability in governance.

According to the stakeholders who were participants at a two-day Public Awareness Roundtable for media and civil society organizations on the EDSIAS, their resolve to champion advocacy for the enthronement  of transparency in the conduct of government business stemmed from their realization that unchecked corruption in the administration of public resources had over the years robbed the state and the Nigeria nation the needed  development.

The Edo State Integrity and Accountability Strategy is the state version of the National Anti-Curruption Strategy and has six thematic areas of Prevention of corruption, Public enlightenment, Enforcement and sanctions, Assets recovery and management, and Ease of doing business.

The public awareness roundtable was organized by the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (ROLAC) in collaboration with the Edo State technical committee on EDSIAS documents aimed at strengthening the effectiveness, efficiency and synergy of the institutions, laws, and measures designed for the state and local governments as well as the private sector to prevent and combat corruption and to engage the public more actively in the process.

The stakeholders said they have resolved to play their roles in the anti-corruption campaign which include but not limited to being the anti-corruption watchdogs in the state, support for the state’s anti-corruption institutions in popularizing and implementing the state anti-grafts strategy, and to provide public education on the menace of corruption and its negative consequences on the society.

Other areas of intervention the stakeholders said would include the formation platforms in support of the fight against corruption and being anti-corruption champions themselves by refusing to participate in corrupt practices.

In a paper on the role of stakeholders in the fight against corruption presented by Prof Onyukwu O. Onyukwu titled, “The Role of the Media/CSOs In The Fight Against Corruption”, he underlined the essence of the workshop which according to him was to draw attention to the risk of corruption becoming a normal culture in view of declining public criticisms of manifestation of acts of corruption.   

Prof Onyukwu noted that critical stakeholders like the Media and CSOs were needed to create the needed synergy with the public with the aim of moderating their psyche against glorifying corrupt practices as currently being observed among some segments of our society.

“Corruption is gradually being considered as a necessary evil in the sharing of the proverbial national cake. Critical attitude of citizens against corruption is getting weakened and we have got no choice other than to do everything to revalidate it” Prof Onyukwu said.  

Earlier, in her opening remarks, Dr Ada Chidi-Igbokwe, had taken the participants on the concept of EDSIAS and the road map to achieving the set objective of minimising corruption in the public sector for a better society.