Yesterday, the Executive Director of the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, Dr. Umar Yakubu participated as a panelist in an executive session hosted by the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The session, part of the “Anti-Corruption Training for Norm and Behavioral Change,” brought together CEOs and leaders from public agencies to discuss actionable strategies for strengthening institutional integrity and transparency.
At the Center, we firmly believe that the fight against corruption must adopt a whole-of-society approach, one that mobilizes every sector and level of society to promote accountability and uphold ethical standards. However, achieving this comprehensive response lies on the commitment of leadership across both public and private sectors to adopt and model “norm and behavioral change.” Only through such a transformation, embedded at all levels of leadership, can we cultivate a culture where integrity is not merely encouraged but becomes the standard practice in all institutions.
This event underscores the importance of engaging leaders in creating an environment where accountability and transparency are practiced daily. This effort is equally important for organizational behavioral change within public institutions, as it is strongly believed that when CEOs and heads of public agencies commit to transparency and accountability as core values, it will result in a cultural shift that influences employees’ day-to-day actions and decision-making processes. Such top-down reinforcement of ethical norms helps to establish organizational systems that prioritize integrity, create internal checks to discourage unethical behavior, and encourage a collective responsibility for high standards.
The Center remains committed to working with the ICPC and other stakeholders to ensure that the values of transparency, integrity, and accountability are firmly rooted in every level of our society.