The chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Musa Aliyu, has called on federal parastatal, agencies, and commissions to strengthen institutional mechanisms for corruption prevention.

He made the call at an induction programme for CEOs, chairmen, and members of governing boards of federal government’s parastatals, agencies, and commissions organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms in Abuja.

Mr Aliyu stressed  that sustainable anti-corruption efforts must prioritise prevention alongside enforcement. While warning against governance failures that fuel corruption, he explained that the commission’s preventive mandate was as critical as its investigative and prosecutorial responsibilities.

The ICPC chairman noted that corruption could only be effectively addressed through strong institutional safeguards, ethical leadership, and compliance mechanisms within public institutions.

He drew inference from a 2025 study conducted by the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Centre across 11 African countries, in which the ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau participated.

Mr Aliyu noted that greed and lack of integrity accounted for nearly 50 per cent of corruption cases identified in public institutions, adding the findings underscored the urgent need for systemic reforms to address institutional weaknesses that enable corrupt practices across the public service.

To address such vulnerabilities, Mr Aliyu outlined several preventive tools deployed by the commission, including anti-corruption and transparency units in ministries, departments, and agencies.

(NAN)