ICPC To Strengthen Anti-Corruption Policies Leveraging China Experience

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, has said that Nigeria will continue to draw lessons from global best practices and comparative experiences in strengthening its anti-corruption policies and strategies.

Dr. Aliyu stated this at the Third Edition of the International Diplomatic Dialogue themed, “Experience Sharing in Anti-Corruption Policies and Strategies: The Chinese Perspective,” held at the ICPC Headquarters in Abuja.

The ICPC Chairman explained that as Nigeria continues to deepen its anti-corruption efforts, there was significant value in learning from comparative experiences, understanding best practices and identifying innovative approaches that could be adapted to local realities.

According to him, “As Nigeria continues to deepen its anti-corruption efforts, there is much value in learning from comparative experiences, understanding best practices, and identifying innovative approaches that can be adapted to our local realities.”

He noted that corruption remained a major threat to political, socio-economic and developmental progress, particularly in societies where it was allowed to thrive unchecked.

Dr. Aliyu noted that China had made significant progress in combating corruption through key anti-corruption institutions, particularly the National Supervisory Commission (NSC) and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), adding that the Commission was keen to learn from the country’s strategies and policies, including its institutional and legal reforms, as well as enforcement measures deployed in the fight against corruption.

Dr. Aliyu recalled that the Commission had earlier hosted the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria and the Ambassador of Indonesia to Nigeria at the first and second editions of the International Diplomatic Dialogue respectively, noting that the engagements provided opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and experiences on approaches adopted by different countries in addressing corruption.

In his remarks, the Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria Prof.Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim said China’s transformation from one of the world’s poorest nations into a major economic and technological power was driven partly by strong political will and sustained efforts to combat corruption.
He said China strengthened its anti-corruption system through unified investigations, zero tolerance for corruption and the use of technology to improve transparency and detect corrupt practices.

He also highlighted the relevance of Confucian values such as righteousness, propriety, wisdom, sincerity and integrity in promoting ethical conduct.
The Provost called for comparative learning between Nigeria and China’s anti-corruption systems to strengthen accountability and support sustainable national development.

In his keynote address, His Excellency, the Cultural Counsellor of Chinese Embassy in Nigeria and the Director of China Cultural Centre in Nigeria, Counsellor Yang Juanxing explained that China’s anti-corruption approach goes beyond the investigation and punishment of individual offenders, combining enforcement with prevention, institutional reform, oversight and education.

He said the approach was designed to build a system in which people were unwilling to corrupt, unable to corrupt and afraid to corrupt.

The Chinese Counsellor further stressed the importance of accountability, maintaining that no individual should consider himself above the law on account of position, power or personal connections.

According to him, accountability must apply to everyone, irrespective of status.

He also identified values, institutions and the rule of law as essential pillars of a sustainable anti-corruption framework, stressing the need to cultivate integrity, establish transparent procedures, strengthen effective oversight and ensure that violations of the law attract appropriate consequences.

The International Diplomatic Dialogue was organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), the research and training arm of the Commission, as a platform for sharing knowledge, ideas and experiences on anti-corruption practices across different countries.