THE Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), a training arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), will be the best anti-corruption training school in Africa.

According to Rasheedat Okoduwa, ICPC’s spokesperson, President Muhammadu Buhari made this pledge at the opening ceremony of the training workshop on Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) for heads of anti-corruption agencies in Africa, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Buhari noted that the support for ACAN would ensure that Nigeria and other African countries are well equipped to deal with the menace of corruption on the continent.

“ACAN has earned our support as it moves to becoming a focal centre for anti-corruption studies in Africa,” Buhari said while commending the ICPC for coming up with the CRA as a tool for ensuring the success of the battle.

The President called on the participants from over 30 Africa Union (AU) member countries to domesticate the CRA template in their various countries, stressing that the training can only be meaningful if the assessors are put to work back in their countries.

In his remarks, the Acting Chairman of ICPC, Musa Abubakar, noted that the introduction of CRA by ICPC had helped the government to block avenues for corruption in its financial systems.

He listed some of the areas where the Commission had conducted CRA to include the ports sector, Nigerian international airports and selected Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA) which had led to a significant reduction of opportunities for corruption in Nigeria.

“When loopholes and leakages in the systems are plugged, people will be denied access to public funds and as such will not have the opportunity to misappropriate it,” Abubakar said.

“This is against pursuing individuals after the deed is done, an action that drains a lot of resources amidst challenges that create uncertainty of outcomes.

“To this end, ICPC stands on the principle that an ounce of prevention is worth more than a tonne of remedy.”

Forty-two participants are taking part in the CRA workshop, drawn from  AU countries like Mauritius, Mali, Kenya, Lesotho, Guinea Bissau, South Africa, Morocco, Togo, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Rwanda.

Others are Ghana, Senegal, Benin Republic, Zambia, Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania.