ICPC inaugurates anti-corruption unit in FIRS to fight ‘unethical practices’

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has inaugurated a 12-member anti-corruption and transparency unit (ACTU) at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Zacch Adedeji, chairman of FIRS, set up the unit to drive transparency and accountability in tax collection processes and ensure zero tolerance for unethical acts in the agency.

Speaking at the inauguration on Tuesday, Musa Aliyu, ICPC chairman, said the ACTU would be supported to deliver on its mandate.

Represented by Olusegun Adigun, ICPC’s director of system study and review, Aliyu said the ACTU’s mandate includes “periodic sensitisation of staff on the ills of corruption, examination of systems, processes, and procedures that are prone to corruption and offering solutions, developing and reviewing a code of ethics for staff and ensuring compliance with same, monitoring the budget and its implementation by the FIRS, coordinating the deployment of the ethics and integrity scorecards, and undertaking a preliminary investigation into complaints and reports received”.

The ICPC chairman said the ACTU should not operate as a parallel authority but work closely with the FIRS management to build the entity into a reputable agency.

Also speaking, Adedeji, who was represented by Tayo Koleosho, his chief of staff, implored members of the unit to uphold the core values of the agency.

“The easy part of being a member of the FIRS anti-corruption unit has just been done. The real work starts now,” he said.

“The staff of FIRS and, by extension, the taxpayers as well as the general public should be able to relate to the integrity you bring to this responsibility.”

Sa’adatu Yero, director of the unit, assured that members will implement anti-corruption measures to eliminate unethical practices and ensure that the highest standards of integrity and transparency are upheld.

“ACTU of FIRS is made up of representatives of the various groups in the service and other relevant functions. Since its inception, the unit has been performing exceedingly well by collaborating with both internal and external stakeholders such as the ICPC, the Nigerian Police Force, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure all corruption and unethical risks of the service are tackled effectively,” Yero said.

“ACTU of the service was recently rated among the best in the country, scoring 79.95% in the 2022 ethics and integrity scorecard survey.”