By Dare Akogun
The Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission, HYPPADEC, said it’s committed in aiding the government in tracking the assets and liabilities of public officers to mitigate unethical conducts including corruption, money laundering and fraud.
Managing Director of the commission
Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, stated this at the opening ceremony of a two days training workshop themed: Compliance with assets declaration and code of conduct for public officers, held in Ilorin the Kwara State capital.
The Managing Director represented represented by Engr Suleiman Adebara, said the Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari committed to fighting corruption and improving accountability in the Nigerian civil and public service.
He said after the training, it is expected staff comply with the Federal Government’s rule and regulation on assets declaration saying that assets declaration is not limited to only top-tier public officers.
According to him, “Transparency and accountability are the life-support of democracy. As a result, the 1999 constitution (as amended) stipulates that all persons on the payroll of the federal, state and local governments, from the president to the lowest ranking personnel in a local government office, should declare their assets and that of their spouse(s) who are not in civil and public service and their children under 18 years age.
“Public officers are expected to declare their assets immediately after taking office and thereafter at the end of every four years. They are equally required to do so at the end of term in office,” he said.
Yelwa who said achieving the mandate of HYPPADEC cannot be achieved without an honest, committed and ethically upright workforce advised participants to be keen about the workshop inorder for them to be able to comply with the ethics and best practices of civil and public service.
“It is the mandate of HYPPADEC to conceive, plan and implement projects and programmes to prevent and tame ecological and environmental hazards, and to ensure the development in Nigeria’s power producing areas.
“This cannot be achieved without an honest, committed and ethically upright workforce.
“Apart from assets declaration, therefore, the facilitators of this workshop would coach you on how to link the Commission’s mission, values and principles with standards of professional conduct.
“The codes of conduct and ethics you would be taught during this workshop are the benchmarks against which your performance in the Commission will be measured,” he said.
