Rivers Town Hall Meeting – Communique

Wadata Media and Advocacy Centre (WAMAC) an NGO with the support of MacArthur Foundation held a Town Hall Meeting to amplify the Fight against Corruption in Local Languages with a theme: “Corruption In Education sector In Nigeria: The Need For Moral Reorientation” held on 13^th May, 2023 at NOVOTEL HOTEL & RESORT, Stadium Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Participants were drawn from the Media, Civil Society Organizations, Community Based Organizations, Religious and Community leaders as well as anti-Corruption agencies, notably the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA). Also representatives of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Peace Corps are in attendance.

At the end of the Town Hall meeting the following resolutions were made to fast tract the Fight Against Corruption through Community Participation as follows:-

1. The Town Hall meeting advocated for speedy intervention of Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s) and legal Practitioners to vacate the Perpetual Injunction that became an impediments for the anti-Corruption agencies to investigate and prosecute Rivers state government and its agencies.
2. The meeting resolved, that, community should rise up and expose corrupt practices in their domain through awareness in rural and urban communities to inculcate ‘virtues of societal norms and values’  in Schools to re-orient the society on the menace of corruption.
3. Participants agreed that the endemic corruption in our society must be tamed with sincerity of purpose to compliments efforts of anti-corruption agencies.
4. The Town Hall Meeting recognized the role of traditional institution and Religious leaders in the fight against corruption through courage and honesty to uphold the sanctity of truthfulness and accountability.
5. Communities were obliged to re-invigorate local tradition contents to instill discipline from homes to reduce moral corruption.
6. The participants also calls for a new mechanism to revitalize education sector in Rivers State through effective funding of the education sector and the need for good remuneration and welfare of Teachers.
7. The meeting also calls for modernization of schools infrastructure and employment of new teachers through implementation of committee of experts’ reports on education tagged FACILITIES INSPECTION REMUNIRATION AND EVALUATION (FIRE) to save educational sector in Rivers state from collapse.
8. Finally, the meeting urged participants to grow beyond Town Hall meeting to be ambassadors of anti-corruption.

This communique was made this day 13^th May, 2023 at Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

ZUBAIR A IDRIS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/PROGRAMMES MANAGER

WAMAC