President Muhammadu Buhari recently conferred national award to deserving Nigerians who had contributed immensely to national development both in the public and private sector.
One of those honoured was the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Professor Bolaji Owasanoye.
The ICPC boss was honoured with the national medal of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic for his purposeful leadership and for putting the commission forward as the most effective anti-graft agency in Nigeria
In a press release signed by the Commission’s Media Director, Hassan Salihu, the ICPC boss since assumption of office as the fourth chairman in February 2019, has brought in several initiatives, technological innovations to the war against corruption in Nigeria.
The Chairman through prevention interventions such as System Study and Review, Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Initiative, Illicit Financial Flows, Risk Assessment has saved Nigeria large sums of funds that would have been embezzled.
Before the coming of Owasanoye as the chairman, there were so many Nigerians who had one case of corruption or the other but were not investigated because of their belongingness to power but that is no longer the case as the fourth chairman of the commission has prosecuted those found culpable, their assets seized and funds recovered.
He said that the Commission’s public engagement and advocacy against corruption has increased since Owasanoye took over leadership.