HEDA Parleys Media Executives, Vows to Intensify Fight Against Corruption

The Human and Environment Development Agenda, HEDA, Nigeria foremost anti-corruption crusader has restated its commitment to the goals of fighting the scourge of corruption that has become a pain in the neck of the nation.

Last week, the Transparency International (TI), ranked Nigeria 154 out of the 180 countries in its latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report for the year 2021.

TI, a global movement working in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption indicated that the CPI measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption.

The TI report added despite the usual claim by Nigerian Government officials that the Government is making big stride in its efforts at curtailing corruption, the failure of the Government to take actions on government officials indicted in grand corruption such as exposed in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) forensic audit as well as other revelations such as the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers and FinCEN Files reveals a lack of political will to comprehensively tackle corruption at its very roots.

Speaking at an interactive session with selected media executives in Lagos on Thursday, the Chairman of HEDA Resource Center, Comrade Suraj Olanrewaju explained that a robust collaboration between the media and HEDA will strengthen the hands of the anti-corruption group in the fight against graft in the country.

He added that as we approach the 2023 election year, politicians will become desperate more desperate and enjoined the media to live up to the expectation of Nigerians who are desirous of an end to corruption and looting of our commonwealth.

Also speaking at the occasion, HEDA’s Programm Consultant, Sina Odugbemi informed that HEDA will be willing to collaborate and partner with willing media houses in the efforts to unearth corruption and graft stories to give the nation a new lease of life.

In his contribution, Suleiman Arigbabu, HEDA’s Executive Secretary enjoined the media to collaborate with HEDA in setting agenda for environment justice and human rights in 2022. He added that the media and the civil society groups should not relent in the fight to ensure a just energy transition so that he poor who are currently suffering the effects of gas flaring and not the ones who end up suffering the cost of fossil fuel non-proliferation again.

In their reaction, the media executives present pledged their commitment to the anti-graft war and advised HEDA to sustain the interactive session and expand the meeting to include other stakeholders like the women groups and religious leaders.