Buhari announces new measures in war against corruption

President Muhammadu Buhari pledged Thursday in London that in furtherance of his administration’s effort against corruption, Nigeria will soon begin the full implementation of the principles of the Open Contracting Data Standard.

 In Nigeria’s country statement to the Anti-Corruption Summit hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, President Buhari said that the Federal Government will apply the Open Contracting Data Standard to major projects in the oil, transportation, power, health, education and other sectors.

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) enables disclosure of data and documents at all stages of the contracting process by defining a common data model.

The publication of OCDS data ensures greater transparency in public contracting, and can support accessible and in-depth analysis of the efficiency, effectiveness, fairness, and integrity of public contracting systems.

President Buhari  said his administration was also taking steps to ensure greater transparency of the ownership and control of all companies involved in property purchase and public contracting.

“Nigeria is already collating this information through the Extractive Industry Initiative process and will extend it to other sectors. 

“Nigeria will establish a transparent central register of foreign companies bidding on public contracts and buying property. We welcome the proposal by developed countries to work together to improve the access of developing countries to beneficial ownership information for use in public contracting, the president said.

President Buhari also welcomed a proposal to restrict the ability of those involved in corruption to travel, invest and do business overseas.

“We commit to joining the pilot initiative for automatic exchange of beneficial information. Nigeria commits to deploying public-private information sharing partnerships to bring together governments, law enforcement, regulators and the financial sector to detect, prevent and disrupt money laundering linked to corruption.

“We commit to work together to enhance company disclosure on the payments to governments for the sale of oil, gas and minerals, complementing ongoing work within the EITI. 

“Nigeria is already reporting progress through the EITI working groups and will continue to work with interested countries to build a common understanding and strengthen the evidence for transparency in this area.

“We welcome voluntary disclosures through EITI reporting and by some major companies regarding payments to governments for the sale of oil, gas and minerals.

“We welcome the new 2016 EITI Standard, in particular the requirements on beneficial ownership and the sale of the government’s share of production.We will sign up to the Common Reporting Standard initiative.

“We commit to reviewing penalties and other actions against professional enablers of tax evasion, including for corporations that fail to prevent their employees from facilitating tax evasion.

“We support the development of a global commitment for public country by country reporting on tax information for large multinational enterprises.

“We commit to the strengthening of our asset recovery legislation, including through non-conviction based confiscation powers and the introduction of unexplained wealth orders.

“In order to improve on the current legal procedures and ease asset recovery procedures, we have drafted the Proceeds of Crime Bill which provides for the transparent management of recovered funds and  assets and  a non-conviction based approach to asset recovery.  

“We will work with others countries, civil society, international organisations to support accelerated implementation of the voluntary provisions of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and we commit to the implementation of the outstanding obligations under the UNCAC.

“We support the establishment of an International Anti-Corruption Coordination Center to be managed by National Crimes Agency of Britain. We will work with NCA in promoting this centre in the African region,” the president said.

Source: Premiumtimesng