NCDMB to mark Anti-corruption Day with workshop, national school debate
Buoyed by the ranking as Nigeria’s top performing organisation in efficiency and
transparency from 2022 to date, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring
Board (NCDMB) has unveiled plans to mark the 2024 World Anti-corruption Day on
Thursday, 5th December at the Nigerian Content Tower, Bayelsa State.
The theme of this year’s celebration is “Effective Whistleblowers Protection Mechanism:
A Critical Tool in the Fight against Corruption,” and the celebration at the NCDMB is
organized by the agency’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACTU) led by the Director of Monitoring
and Evaluation, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu.
According to the programme of event, the day will be marked with a workshop that will
feature paper presentations by representatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices
and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and key officials of the Board.
Another highlight of the day will include the grand finale of the debate competition
among six federal government colleges from the six zones of the country, plus a
representative from Bayelsa State, which is selected automatically as the host state of
NCDMB.
The selected schools are Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State, Federal
Government College, Okigwe, Imo State, Federal Government College, Warri, Delta
State, Federal Government Girls College, Kazaure, Jigawa State, Federal Government
College, Ijanikin, Lagos State, Federal Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State,
and Federal Government College, Rubochi, Abuja.
Two students, accompanied by an adult from each of the schools will be camped in
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, by the NCDMB for four days during which preliminary debates
will be held to determine the best two teams.
The debate, whose finale is to be held at the magnificent 17-storey Nigerian Content
Tower (NCT), Yenagoa, is being organised to “instill the ethics of transparency and
public interest in Nigerian students,” to “promote critical thinking, research, and public
speaking skills” among that segment of the population, generally viewed as potential
future leaders of thought and industry in the country and “encourage students to engage
with complex issues that underline good governance and democracy in Nigeria”. Prizes
will to be awarded to the winners.
Organisers of the event indicated that the day is being marked at the NCDMB to
sensitize staff to eschew corrupt practices in their daily operations and to underline the
fact that achieving responsive governance in Nigeria would depend on capacity and
effective leadership, as well as deliberate citizen engagement through interest
articulation and aggregation.
