By SAMUEL OYADONGHA
Yenagoa—The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC,  Monday  met with local government council chairmen and stakeholders in Bayelsa State, declaring that the establishment of anti-corruption units at the grassroots will eradicate recruitment procurement and promotion exercise that are fraught with corruption.

Lamenting the rising cases of corruption at the grassroot, ICPC, at a town hall meeting at the Conference Hall of the Yenagoa Local Government Council headquarters blamed the ignorance of council chairmen to rules and regulations and the pressure from political godfathers.

These, the commission noted  are responsible for such criminal violation of rules and rampant cases of embezzlement at the third-tier of government.

In a lecture, entitled “The need for the Establishment of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency, Monitoring Unit in the LGAs”, ICPC’s Head of the Planning, Research and Review Department, Mr. Kennedy Ebhotemen, said though the commission was yet to indict anyone, the issue of corruption is high at the third-tier of government across the country.

The findings of the anti- graft body into the cases of corrupt practices at the local government level, according to him, revealed that the acts were products of the fact that operators of the council are not conversant with rules and regulations guiding the operations of government.

He said, “it has been revealed that some practices like the recruitment of staff, procurement and promotion are fraught with corruption and need review in response to changes in current administrative challenges.

“It was also discovered that in some cases, there were no clearly written and defined criteria in dealing with both routine and exceptional cases, to ensure that all cases are dealt with by using the same criteria and avoiding management and staff using discretion to favour client. It was revealed that chairmen of councils work under undue pressure from close relatives and friends to use their offices to bestow favours on them thereby contravening the ICPC Act and other relevant laws.”

Ebhotemen noted that the ICPC, in its bid to curb corrupt practices, is advocating for the establishment of the Anti_Corruption and Transparency Monitoring Unit at the LGA levels.

The unit, he said, will be in better position to examine the practices, systems and procedures of the council and where in its opinion such practices, systems or procedures facilitate fraud or corruption, it will recommend to the head of the council for appropriate action.