Nigerian state sets up anti-corruption commission

Politicians in Nigeria’s major financial centre have set up an anti-corruption agency to investigate officials and contractors suspected of misusing public funds.

The governor of Lagos state, home to the country’s largest city, signed the bill on Monday and will set up the commission in the coming days.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the move is important to ensure citizens receive quality services.

“We believe that this law will not only ensure the accountability of public funds but also promote dialogue among public officers to keep the trust of the people in the discharge of their duties in line with transparency,” he said.

“The anti-corruption commission will ensure that all approved activities are implemented in accordance with budgetary allocation.”

The agency will work alongside similar departments in the police and federal government, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the country’s main anti-graft organisation.

It will have the power to prosecute officials and contractors found to have engaged in corruption.

Sanwo-Olu was elected in 2019, and he said the law “gives credence” to promises he made when he took office.

“When we came in, we said we would be accountable and responsible in the appropriation of the state’s resources,” he said.

“We want to stand in front of the citizens to give account of how public funds are spent.”

Nigeria faces problems with endemic corruption; it ranks in the bottom fifth of countries in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index –.149 out of 180.

A 2012 review found the federal government had lost more than $400bn of oil revenue since independence in 1960.