The Federal Government has actually enhanced its drive for openness and responsibility in the education sector with the inauguration of the Anti-Corruption and Openness Unit (ACTU) Committee in the Federal Ministry of Education.
The inauguration, held in Abuja on Wednesday, becomes part of efforts to promote ethical governance, institutional stability and efficient civil service shipment in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Restored Hope Agenda.
Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, described ACTU as a critical mechanism for promoting due procedure, ethical conduct and compliance with public service policies across the ministry and its firms.
He stressed that as the institution responsible for formulating and executing nationwide education policies, the ministry needs to uphold the highest requirements of professionalism, integrity and responsibility. According to him, corruption stays a major obstacle to national development, diverting resources implied for education and undermining public self-confidence.
Enitan charged members of the freshly inaugurated committee to discharge their obligations with courage, diligence, patriotism and impartiality while promoting ethical conduct, anti-corruption awareness, system reforms and rigorous compliance with existing regulations.
He likewise urged personnel of the ministry to welcome its EPIC worths– Effectiveness, Efficiency, Incorruptibility and Citizen-Centred Service– adding that stability stays the foundation for quality education delivery and excellence in public service.
Representing the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Musa Adamu Aliyu, ICPC official Olusegun Adigun applauded the ministry for revitalising its ACTU, describing the move as a considerable turning point in strengthening its internal anti-corruption framework.
Adigun explained that ACTU, established through a collaboration in between the ICPC and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, serves as a preventive and advisory body for promoting stability and accountability within federal government organizations.
He noted that the reconstituted committee would supervise anti-corruption sensitisation, ethics promotion, corruption threat evaluations, system evaluations, budget execution monitoring, promo of the Ethics and Integrity Promise, and initial examinations into grievances of dishonest conduct.
Earlier, the Director of Unique Tasks, Murtala Tanko, described the inauguration as a demonstration of the ministry’s dedication to transparency, accountability and ethical governance. He advised members to support management in accomplishing quality service delivery through strict adherence to public service rules and standard operating procedures.
Reacting on behalf of the committee, ACTU Chairman Malik Guni Kuje thanked the ministry for the confidence reposed in members and vowed transparent, responsible and collaborative management. He ensured stakeholders that the committee would strengthen preventive procedures against corruption through sustained sensitisation, policy reviews and strict compliance with civil service policies and ICPC standards.
The occasion likewise featured the administration of the Oath of Allegiance on members of the committee, highlighting the Federal Ministry of Education’s restored dedication to transparency, responsibility and effective management of public resources beforehand quality education across Nigeria.