FG Inaugurates Committee on National Anti-corruption Strategy 

Alex Enumah in Abuja 

The Federal Government on Tuesday inaugurated the Ministerial Committee on National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) as part of efforts at curbing corruption in the country.

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who inaugurated the committee, observed that the NACS is in tandem with the anti-corruption stance of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, which he said aims at eradicating corruption, whilst strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of various anti-corruption agencies. 

While stating that the inauguration is long overdue, Fagbemi said that the role of the committee is of immense importance and essential to the achievement of the NACS vision and mission. 

“As you are aware, corruption is one of the formidable challenges to the attainment of our national development goals. It undermines trust in public and private institutions, distorts resource allocation and incapacitates our ability to provide effective and efficient service delivery. 

“It is in a bid to curb this menace that the NACS Ministerial Committee was established,” the minister said.

He recalled that as part of efforts at developing a homegrown anti-corruption strategy, the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) at its retreat in 2009 signed a statement of commitment to develop a National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) that will identify the root causes of corruption and effectively combat corruption.

Fagbemi added that the Federal Government, during its Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in July 2017, approved the adoption of the NACS and directed the then Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to come up with a robust implementation plan for the NACS 2017-2021. 

He stated that a NACS Action Plan 2022 – 2026 was validated by critical stakeholders in July 2024, focusing on five pillars, which serve as the driving force for both the public and private sector, with its scope covering national and sub-national levels of government.

“The implementation of the NACS and its action plan are expected to be carried out under the following headings: Strengthening the legal and institutional framework designed to prevent and combat corruption; Mainstreaming anti-corruption principles into governance and service delivery; and Mainstreaming anti-corruption into sub-national public administration.

“In order to ensure successful implementation, NACS has adopted the top to bottom approach, allowing the heads of relevant agencies to be drivers of the policy within their sectors and to also allow for cross-evaluation of implementation.

“Under NACS, the distinguished members of this committee are therefore responsible for facilitating the Anti-corruption Funding Framework (AFF) and the development of sector-specific strategies for the implementation of NACS,” the minister added.