Leaders of community based organizations and the media have been enjoined to help save Nigeria from further damage by taking to all corners, the fight against corruption so Nigerians can experience better service delivery.
Executive director of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Center made the call at a sensitization programme on Ethics and Accountability facilitated by the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission, ICPC organized by her organization as part of advocacy meeting with the commission on Thursday January 16, 2020.
Emem Okon said anti-corruption campaign will improve living standards and be most beneficial to women explaining that that informed Gender and Accountability project under which the meeting was held. She explained that the project being carried out in partnership with WRAPA with funding from Mac Arthur Foundation is being implemented in Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa states.
Justifying the accountability drive, she stated:
“Kebetkache and other WRAPA partners recognize that proper utilization of government resources, particularly the oil revenue will improve women’s access to social services such as maternal health, education, safe clean drinking water and livelihood. In a situation like ours where community women experience lack of access to energy, pollution, bad roads, insecurity and gender violence, this project offers the space for affected women to speak up and demand accountability.
“The project seeks to mobilize women and other groups to actively participate in the anti-corruption campaigns by speaking up on impacts of corruption on women and other vulnerable groups”.
She said Kebetkache has through several town hall meetings on the Open Governance Partnership conducted across AkwaIbom, Bayelsa and Rivers states, built up women’s capacity to recognize the patterns, trends and consequences of corruption for their 
empowerment, gender equality and social inclusion and in the second year of the programme, is focusing on building partnership with anti-corruption agencies including EFCC, ICPC, Servicom as well as their NGO coalitions where they exist where they exist to promote gender and accountability.
She thanked ICPC for encouragement and show of collaboration and partnership and stressed that aim of the collaboration is to institutionalize anti-corruption and accountability practice in Nigeria by promoting women rights issues, amplify critical voices of women and gender issues in the discourse and drive as well as build and sustain messages and mechanisms that demand accountability.
The ICPC sensitization on Ethics and Accountability in the Workplace facilitated by Mr Peter Aveyina was targeted at intensifying anti-corruption campaigns to foster behavioural and attitudinal change in citizens.
He told participants that with integrity and adherence to ethics, 50 per cent of corruption in the society would be reduced noting that corruption is found everywhere –at home, in the market, school, church, community and workplaces with the impact felt everywhere.
Participants suggested that the campaign should start from self to home and move up and that those entrusted with authority should think of serving society before self and refrain from obstructing justice.
