Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo says corrupt practices fuel insecurity in the country, calling for all hands to be on deck to fight the menace.

The minister said this when he visited Musa Aliyu, the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Tunji-Ojo said his visit aimed to strike a synergy between his ministry and the ICPC. He believed the collaboration could help tighten the belt and block loopholes even within the administrative processes.

“We know the Ministry of Interior is responsible for enhancing internal security, and, of course, corruption is one of the biggest threats to security in Nigeria.

“We believe that by leveraging and collaborating with ICPC, we might just be saving our country from a lot of effort that is needed in righting the wrongs.

“We believe that all over the world, the language is pro-activeness, the language is prevention, the language is no more detection or correction,” he said.

The minister stressed that the world was moving so fast and noted that as a product of the 20th and 21st centuries, one needed to learn the language of the 22nd century.

“And the language of the next generation, which we must learn as a country, is building strong institutions.

“One believes that the strategic relationship between these two agencies can, of course, block many reports, prevent and, of course, deter even the imagination of ill-doings.

“If we do not do that, we will continue to run after the criminals. And, once we are running after the criminals, it becomes a game of fun to the criminals,” he said.

He stressed the need for collaboration with the agency to tighten the belt and block loopholes within the administrative processes.

“How do I mean by that? I sincerely believe that if we have a functional unit of ICPC officers saddled with certain responsibility of going through certain decisions before they are activated, we might save ourselves a lot of stress in detection,” he said.

In his remarks, the ICPC chairman said the commission had been trying to discharge its mandate within the confines of the law to reduce corruption.

“This is because I keep on saying that we need investments.

“And two major key issues that you need to have on the ground to have investment in the country is one secure environment, which the Minister of Interior has responsibility in ensuring that Nigeria is secure.

“Also, there is less corruption because no investor will come to a country where you feel insecure. And there is also the challenge of bribery and corruption,” he said.

Mr Musa said he had always tried to see how ICPC could achieve its mandate of prevention, enforcement, education and enlightenment to combat corruption.

(NAN)