Anti-Corruption Fight: NCDMB Holds A Catch-Them-Young Event
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In what appears to be a deliberate step to inject the spirit of anti-graft and transparency into young Nigerians, the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board, NCDMB, is bringing school children together for this year’s world anti-corruption day, scheduled for December 5.
As part of the events, the students will be part of the grand finale of a debate competition between six federal government colleges from the six geo-political zones of the country, plus a representative from Bayelsa State, host of the NCDMB.
The debate is to be held at the Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), Yenagoa, to “instill the ethics of transparency and public interest in Nigerian students, promote critical thinking, research, and public speaking skills.”
This is to encourage students to deal with complex issues regarding good governance and democracy in Nigeria, in recognition of the fact that the students’ population is made of Nigeria’s potential future leaders of thought.
The selected schools are Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State, Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo State, Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State, Federal Government Girls College, Kazaure, Jigawa State, Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos State, Federal Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State, and Federal Government College, Rubochi, Abuja.
Two students, accompanied by an adult from each of the schools, will be camped in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, by the NCDMB for four days during which preliminary debates will be held to determine the best two teams.
The theme of this year’s celebration is “Effective Whistleblowers Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight against Corruption.” The celebration at the NCDMB is organized by the agency’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACTU) led by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu.
Apart from the debate, there will also be a workshop that will feature paper presentations by representatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and key officials of the Board.
The event is being marked to also sensitize staff of the NCDMB to eschew corrupt practices in their daily operations and to underline the fact that achieving responsive governance in Nigeria would depend on capacity and effective leadership, as well as deliberate citizen engagement through interest articulation and aggregation.
