Bayelsa Govt Reaffirms Zero Tolerance For Corruption, Warns Against Frivolous Petitions
The Bayelsa State Government has reaffirmed its zero tolerance for corruption in governance while warning residents against filing frivolous and unfounded petitions with anti-corruption agencies.
Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Peter Akpe, gave the warning on Tuesday when he received the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for Bayelsa and Rivers states, Dr Ekere Usiere, during a courtesy visit to the Government House in Yenagoa.
Akpe said although there was a widespread perception that politicians were corrupt, the Governor Douye Diri-led Prosperity Administration remained committed to promoting transparency and accountability in governance.
He stressed that the government would not tolerate corruption, but equally urged residents to desist from submitting petitions based on unsubstantiated allegations.
According to the deputy governor, the volume of petitions originating from Bayelsa currently before the ICPC was significantly higher than that of many other states, a development he described as disturbing.
He said some of the petitions were based on personal grievances rather than genuine allegations of corruption, warning that deliberately filing unjustifiable petitions could have legal consequences.
“Our government is a government that believes in zero tolerance for corruption; that is why we are always open to interact with you and other anti-graft agencies,” Akpe said.
He added: “Usually, there is this issue of negative perception of politics and politicians. But it is not true that every politician is corrupt. We have a good number of people in politics that are not corrupt. And we believe that a good percentage of them are in this government.”
On the volume of petitions from the state, Akpe said: “What we observed was that the heap of files from Bayelsa were 10 times higher than the ones from even Lagos, and 15 more times than the ones from Sokoto and other states.
“That is quite disturbing. More so, most of those petitions were frivolous. From a personal experience, I can tell you that most of the petitions are extremely frivolous. While we will never tolerate corruption, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail.”
Earlier, Usiere explained that the ICPC’s statutory mandate included preventing and investigating corruption as well as sensitising Nigerians on the dangers and consequences of corrupt practices.
She expressed concern over the volume of petitions currently before the commission from communities in Bayelsa State concerning the management of funds associated with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Usiere said the commission was interested in partnering with the Bayelsa State Ministry of Information to organise public enlightenment and sensitisation programmes aimed at educating residents on corruption, the proper channels for lodging complaints and the consequences of submitting false or frivolous petitions.
The ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner was accompanied by Assistant Chief Superintendent Mr Evans Peters; Principal Superintendent Mr Emmanuel Akpor; Assistant Superintendent Mrs Tamaraudoubra Ebebi; and Administrative Officer Mr Frank Yileaziba.
