Matilda Omonaiye/
Newly appointed members of the Code of Conduct Bureau have expressed their preparedness to maintain a high standard of public morality in the conduct of government business and also ensure that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standards of public morality and accountability.
Dr Olayinka Balogun, a retired Commissioner of Police, Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma, and Benedict Umeano spoke after they were inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Dr Balogun, who is representing the South West, assured Nigerians that the fight against corruption would be fought more vigorously and be won.
He said, “I think it is like moving from one house to the other. I am a retired Commissioner of Police, I have all my life attempted to fight indiscipline, corruption and general audacity in society. I have used my position as a police officer to do so over the years.
“Having been invited over to the Code of Conduct Bureau means this is an opportunity to actualize those things that I have been conceptualizing. I will now be in a position to bring these things to the doorsteps of Nigerians that this is how we should conduct ourselves. This is what the law says and by the grace of God, we tend to not just preach it, but enforce it.”
Agbonayinma, who represents the South-South, described corruption as a cancer that must be eradicated.
He stressed the need for all Nigerians to join in the fight.
He said, “Corruption is a cancer that needs total eradication and to achieve this, every patriotic Nigerian must put hands together and support the government of the day. President Buhari cannot do it alone, he requires everyone.
“Seeing a crime being committed, failure to report that crime to the nearest law enforcement agency, you are as guilty as the man or woman who committed that crime. So, it is going to require the effort of all of us.”
The former member of the House of Representatives assured Nigerians that there will be no witch-hunting in the fight against corruption.
Umeano, who represents the South-East, also promised to contribute his quota.
“I have been called upon to represent my constituency in the fight against corruption and the President will not regret appointing me as a member of the CCB. I will do my best and make sure we write my name in the annals of history,” he promised.
A member of the Police Service Commission, Chief Onyemuche Nnamani, who was also inaugurated promised to contribute his quota to raise the standard of police operations in the country.
“You know #EndSARS and the other problems of the Nigeria Police. It is a familiar story. We will try and do what we can to have positive changes in the police force,” he said.
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