The Human and Environmental Development Agenda, HEDA, has commended the Nigeria Institute of Management, NIM, for delisting corrupt bankers as members of the institute. 

In a statement made available to Peoples Gazette on Thursday, HEDA Resource Centre applauded NIM for setting a standard for professionals.

The anti-corruption movement urged other professional groups to follow the NIM model in weeding out bad elements amongst them.

The group said Nigeria loses billions of dollars as fees paid to professionals by corrupt public and private officials.

The Chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraju, said NIM serves as a good professional example that self-regulates, saying other professional institutions need to emulate it in order to curb corruption.

Mr Suraju said all corruption cases were perpetrated with the aid of bankers and other professionals adding that if professional associations delist corrupt members, it will serve as a deterrent to others.

“We want to see professional organisations take a cue from NIM. We want to see the Institute of Chartered Accountants, (ICAN), the insurers association, the lawyers association, the medical association and others take firm sanctions against their members who aid corruption,” Mr Suraju said. 

“Professional groups are strategic partners in the fight against corruption. They need to live up to global best practices,” he added. 

Meanwhile, chairman of NIM, Patience Anabor, said that the institute delisted some bankers for their association with corrupt practices. She spoke during the inauguration of NIM members at the University of Abuja on Tuesday.

“If we catch any corrupt member, we are at liberty to delist the member and we have done so,”  Mrs Anabor said.

She said further, “If you look at the corrupt bankers that were convicted – I won’t mention names now but we delisted them. They were fellows of the institute but we sanctioned them.”