The Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, has said that, like many African countries, Nigeria loses huge amounts of resources to Illicit Financial Flows that originate from three sources of commercial IFFs (which are tax evasion, trade mis-invoicing, and abusive transfer pricing), criminal activities, and corruption which includes bribery and theft by corrupt public officials
The ICPC Chairman stated this during a sensitisation workshop on “revised guidelines on negotiation and drafting of contracts and agreements by government parties to prevent corruption and illicit financial flows and ensure sustainable development,” held at the ICPC Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
Others present at the symposium were the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele.
Speaking during the event, Owasanoye said, “In recent times, some local and international commercial processes and agreements have revealed the role of corruption in the process. Parties desperate to take advantage of the process have been found to corrupt advisers and negotiators of developing country counter parties. Thereafter, there is an attempt to enforce these corrupt and sometimes illegal contracts thus ending up in endless litigation and arbitrations. One immediate negative outcome of this negative trend is a denial of opportunity for economic progress. For example, the OPL 245 license was awarded in 1998.
