COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT A TWO DAY TOWNHALL MEETING TO DISCUSS ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGIES IN NIGERIA

CLEEN Foundation organized a two-day town hall meeting on Anti-Corruption Strategies in Nigeria in Abuja. The town hall meeting had paper presentations on the role of citizens in the fight against corruption, evaluation of institutional efforts in combating corruption and strategic approaches to fighting corruption in Nigeria. The programme was chaired by the Chairman, Board of Directors of CLEEN Foundation, Professor Etannibi Alemika of the University of Jos. The keynote address was delivered by Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, the Executive Secretary of the Presidential Advisory Council on Anti-Corruption (PACC). Other presenters and discussants at the event included Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), Ms Lilian Ekeanyanwu (Head, Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms), Dr Hussain Abdu (Country Director of PLAN International), Mr Bankole Toba, CEO Inspire Incubator. The media, CSOs and representatives of various government agencies were present at the meeting.

Key observations

Ø  The Town-hall acknowledged the deep passion and commitment of the Buhari administration to fight corruption in Nigeria.

Ø  It acknowledged the renewed efforts and vigor of the anti-graft agencies in fighting corruption towards eliminating its adverse effects on the country.

Ø  It also noted with deep concern the battered image of Nigeria as a corrupt nation as it affects citizens in the diaspora and those within the country.

Key Issues

Ø  The country is deeply entrenched in corruption with the details being exposed to citizens. Corruption has affected effective service delivery including education, health, roads, electricity etc. This has further reduced the condition and quality of life of Nigerians.

Ø  Corruption accounts for poor policy choices and outcomes and reduces productivity

Ø  Corruption in Nigeria has fuelled poverty and diminished economic growth. According to the Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the poverty rate in Nigeria increased from 54.4% in 2007 to 69.1% in 2010.

Ø  This high rate of corruption is affecting every facet of the economy including the alarming decline in the exchange rate of the naira

Ø  Consequent on the falling oil prices, the effect is now more pronounced as Nigeria is solely dependent on crude oil.

Ø  Government at all levels is finding it difficult to fulfill statutory duties, payment of salaries, security and provision of basic infrastructures.

Ø  For more than one decade, successive governments have created more anti-graft agencies without enough impact in reducing corruption in Nigeria. Rather, corruption has increased in magnitude and numbers and in some quarters, it has reached the level of impunity.

Ø  This corruption is evidenced in the 2.1 billion dollars arms scam and the inability of the country to respond to challenges posed by the war against insurgency in the Northeast and other troubled parts of the country.

These issues and many others can be linked to the following causes:

Ø  Decline in family values

Ø  Lack of national patriotism

Ø  Lack of reward for hard work and excellence

Ø  Decay in the public service

Ø  Lack of protection for whistle blowers

Ø  Inaction by the government even where incidences of corruption are flagged

Ø  Absence of due diligence in investigation coupled with poor and prolonged prosecution of alleged culprits

Ø   Complicity of local and foreign banks

Ø  Complicity of some foreign governments who exhibit double standards in making their countries safe haven for looted funds from Nigeria.

In view of the issues identified above and the ongoing efforts by the present administration to rid the country of corruption, the 2-day Town-hall meeting proposes the following:

Ø  That President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration should intensify its efforts in the fight against corruption in order to place Nigeria on a true and sustainable path to development.

Ø  All indicted citizens no matter how highly placed should be duly prosecuted and when found guilty should serve the appropriate punishment.

Ø  Corruption should be fought in an inclusive manner while the government should inform the citizens through various reporting channels.

Ø  Citizens must demand good governance and accountability from the government.

Ø  Citizens should not rationalize the fight against corruption along ethnic, religious and party lines but rather to claim the space to fight corruption in Nigeria.

Ø  The Judiciary should expand its capacity to effectively handle the increasing number of corruption cases brought to the courts

Ø  All cases of corruption must be prosecuted in line with the rule of law and constitutional provisions accorded to accused persons.

Ø  All existing security and anti-graft institutions must be strengthened to enable them deliver on their mandates.

Ø  The fight against corruption should not be left alone to the government. All professional bodies such as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) and others should join the government in the fight against corruption by making sure that erring members are appropriately sanctioned.

Ø  The media is an important ally in the fight against corruption. As the watchdog of the society, it must report factual information and not play to the gallery in reporting corruption in the country through sensational headlines.

Ø  Civil Society Organizations should continue to synergize and speak with one voice in the fight against corruption. As the voice of the people, they should embark on programmes that would enhance citizens’ demand for accountability and transparency in governance. 

Ø  The government should deploy Information, Communication and Technology (ICT tools) in the fight against cases of corruption through tracking, reporting and investigation of corruption. CSOs and Nigerians should make effective use of social media in educating and informing citizens on trending issues on corruption.

Ø  The religious and traditional institutions must speak out against corruption and play the expected role of reorientation and strengthening of family values.

Ø  The schools should intensify all efforts in inculcating moral and civic education in children. This will ensure they grow up as incorruptible, patriotic and responsible citizens.

Ø  The international community should cooperate with the Nigerian government in the fight against corruption through thorough investigation of international cases of corruption and ensure the return of looted funds back to Nigeria.

Done in Abuja this 16th Day of February 2016.

Signed,

Benson Olugbuo

Acting Executive Director

The CLEEN Foundation deepens the fight against Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalization in Niger Delta Communities

 CLEEN Foundation in line with the activities of Access NG project is organising VPs workshops in Oguta and Ohaji in Imo State, Owaza and Umuorie in Abia State to deepen and strengthen the fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalization that the organization started since 2013.

The workshops are slated to hold on 19^th at Oguta, 20^th at Owaza, 22^nd at Umuorie and 26^th at Ohaji, all in January, 2016. The workshops would have representatives of Oil Companies operating in the above mentioned Communities, Community Leaders, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Niger Delta Anti-Corruption Network (NIDAN), South East Governance Network (SEGON), Members of Human Rights Working Group, Security Agents, Traditional Rulers etc in attendance.

These workshops would afford participants the opportunity to further understand Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs) Initiative and how it can be used as a dialogue tool to engage other stakeholders in the extractive sector.

Representatives of NIDAN and CLEEN Foundation would be facilitating sessions on: Host Community, Stakeholder or Private Security and Creating a Healthy Environment for Development respectively.

This phase of VPs workshops would encourage and further promote peace in the extractive sector that would encourage and ensure collective efforts in the fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalization.  The communities would also be advised to see community policing as a step in the right direction towards promoting safety and security in their communities.

The CLEEN Foundation enjoins all Nigerians and foreigners residing in Nigeria to join the fight against oil theft and pipeline vandalization in order to save the economy of the country from further dwindling.

Signed

Benson Olugbuo

Ag. Executive Director,

CLEEN Foundation

CLEEN Foundation calls for constructive Civil Military Relations in Nigeria

We join all Nigerians to facilitate with the Nigerian military on the occasion of the armed forces remembrance day.

The Nigerian Armed Forces has engaged in successful military operations in various peace keeping missions to restore peace in troubled countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan just to mention but a few. At the home front, the fight against insurgency has also recorded major successes despite sustained attacks by insurgents since 2009. To further show their unalloyed patriotism, the Nigerian Legion recently announced their commitment to join the Nigerian Military in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria. 

These success stories and efforts by the Nigerian Military collectively are often under-reported in the media and sometimes also met with distrust by the public. These issues portend the need to open up the dialogue space for fostering civil military relations in Nigeria. This is with a view to improving security and development and more importantly, positioning the military as a responsive and accountable government institution.

Despite these successes, there is existing tension between the military and the civilian which is as a result of the long military rule experienced in the past and increased military deployment across civilian space linked to the war against insurgency. This has resulted in a strained relationship between both parties and negates the fundamental rights of the people contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian constitution.

We use this historic occasion to encourage the Military to continue to put in their best and to remain resolute in the fight against terrorists; together we will win the war! We call on the military to investigate and address issues of human right abuses as it concerns Nigerians.

The ‘Fostering Civil Military Relations project’ is timely and aims to build support and promote positive civil-military relations between Nigerians and the military. CLEEN Foundation hopes to achieve this project objective through series of stakeholders’ dialogue sessions to develop a roadmap that will foster Civil Military Relations in Nigeria. Through this project, we will support ongoing discussions and engagement between the military and the civil society to improve accountability, security and national cohesion.  

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #CMR-NG and follow @cleenfoundation

Signed

Benson Olugbuo

Ag. Executive Director,

CLEEN Foundation

2015 BAYELSA STATE: Election Security Threat Assessment

Key Risk Factors:

• Southern Ijaw LGA which has a high concentration of ex-militant leaders poses specific security considerations.
• The riverine communities of Ekeremor and Brass LGAs also present a unique security challenges that would require keen monitoring throughout the election period.
• Sagbama LGA, the home town of the incumbent Governor Dickson is another area to watch as both candidates would be keen to claim victory there.
• Yenagoa LGA which houses the seat of power is an important area to watch security-wise.

Key Mitigating Factors:

• The 20 political parties involved in the election had signed a Peace Accord which observers say is holding in spite of occasional fracas between supporters of the PDP and the APC.
• Different initiatives have been held to sensitize candidates and supporters on the importance of peaceful elections.
• Bayelsa is a small state with only a total of 663,748 registered voters. The efforts of the police led by IGP Solomon Arase along with the support of other security outfits in the state and the region would likely be enough to forestall breakdown of law and order during the election.
• Should there be violence, it could be localised and rapidly quelled to avoid it spreading to other areas

Introduction
The governorship election in Bayelsa State is scheduled for Saturday 5th December, 2015. The atmosphere in the build up to this, has been tense and filled with fear of high level of insecurity. Understandably, the outcome of the 2015 general elections in which the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) which had been in power both at the federal level and in Bayelsa State for the past 16 years was voted out of the presidency, increased the stakes in the staggered governorship election in Bayelsa State as both the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are working hard to win the election in Bayelsa.

For the PDP, it is a battle to retain one more state in Nigeria to serve as a basis from which the party could attempt to relaunch itself to power in the next general elections. Bayelsa is also the home state of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, PDP’s presidential candidate who lost and conceded to President Muhamadu Buhari in the last general elections. Dr. Jonathan has been visible in his campaign for the PDP. Furthermore, although the governorship election held in Kogi State on November 21, 2015 was inconclusive with supplementary election scheduled for December 5, the APC was leading in the polls. The sudden death of the APC candidate,  late Abubakar Audu has exposed the elections to multiple legal tussles. Both parties would therefore seek to win convincingly to devoid any post-election challenge in Bayelsa State.

For the APC, this is the first time they would be contesting as an opposition political party in Bayelsa while being in power at the presidential level. The APC’s candidate is a former Governor of the State who is now seeking to unseat an incumbent of the PDP thus repeating the feat the APC accomplished at the presidential level last March. The APC is mobilising its resources across Nigeria – with the Vice President headlining one of their campaign rallies. Analysts believe that APC is seeking to win Bayelsa to consolidate it gains into the South South where it presently controls only Edo State.

Hot-spots for Violence

• Southern Ijaw LGA which has a high concentration of ex-militant leaders poses specific security considerations.
• The riverine communities of Ekeremor and Brass LGAs also present a unique security challenges that would require keen monitoring throughout the election period. Sylva who hails from Brass LGA is thought to be a favourite in that area, but he is keenly match by the strength of Dickson, the incumbent.
• Sagbama LGA, the home town of the incumbent Governor Dickson is another area to watch as both candidates would be keen to claim victory there. 
• Yenagoa LGA which houses the seat of power is an important area to watch security-wise. With its population and ease of access, all candidates would seek to win in the town where they intend to govern from.

Conclusion and Recommendations
As Bayelsans participate in the second staggered elections to be organised under the Muhammadu Buhari led administration and under the current leadership of INEC, there are important lessons for Bayelsans and Nigerians to take away from the process.

• The government agencies, especially the judiciary should be sensitive to the impact of their work on elections. Judgements on on-going criminal prosecution coming on the eve of the elections as well as the adjournment of hearing on eligibility suit of a candidate well ahead of the election date risk being interpreted as politically motivated and calculated to determine the outcome of the election.

To download the full report, visit www.cleen.org

CLEEN Foundation holds Security and Governance Fora in the South East, Nigeria

Nigeria has in recent years been battling different security and governance challenges which manifest in the form of impunity, mismanagement of resources, human rights violations, corruption, bad governance and insecurity.  CLEEN Foundation in a recent study on governance and security in the south east found among other things decline and marginalization of South East region of Nigeria, crime and insecurity, victimhood and poor governance etc. Key findings from the study reveal strong and casual link between poor governance and insecurity. It also shows that politics drives insecurity while lack of implementation of policies and reforms engender insecurity in form of backlash and leads to declining social capital. 

In an effort to strengthen the governance structures at the communal and local levels to provide support for promoting public safety and security, the CLEEN Foundation is partnering with the Ford Foundation to implement a project aimed at promoting governance and security in the South East geopolitical Zone. This builds on the lessons learnt from research and the implementation of other governance and security projects in Nigeria.

The CLEEN Foundation under the auspices of its South East Governance and Security Project organized the second “Governance and Security Forum” at Abakaliki LGA Secretariat Hall, Ebonyi State on Tuesday 3rd November 2015.

The Transitional Committee Chairman of Abakaliki LGA, Hon. Peter Nwaogbaga in his speech, thanked CLEEN Foundation and partners for convening the forum. The Forum brought together a cross section of over 70 participants drawn from Abakaliki LGA including experts and stakeholders from civil society organizations, security agencies, traditional institutions and other stakeholders within the region.

The Forum provided an opportunity for both structured and informal reflection on governance and security issues in the South East in general and particularly in Ebonyi State. Participants discussed and proffered solutions to identified challenges.

CLEEN Foundation is also engaged in building the capacity of community leaders and security agencies on conflict prevention, community policing, and educating them on negative effects of corruption to governance and security.

The discussions in Abakaliki were led by Mr. Frank Odita a retired Commissioner of Police and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CLEEN Foundation. Mr.  Ifeanyi Anyanwu, Program Officer and head of the CLEEN Foundation’s Owerri office facilitated the forum.

Presentations at the forum were aimed at educating participants on community policing and to facilitate discussions on safety, security and governance which contribute also to the adoption of the monthly NPF/VPS Coordination Meeting and Community Accountability Forum (CAF) that CLEEN Foundation and Justice for All (J4A) are implementing in seven states in Nigeria.

From Abakaliki, the “Governance and Security Forum” moves to Ebonyi LGA on 5^th November and thereafter to Enugu South LGA on 11^th November, 2015.

For more information on the project, please contact cleen@cleen.org or visit www.cleen.org. You can also follow us on twitter @cleenfoundation or like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CLEENFoundation/