“Anti-Corruption Commission Established” — Anambra Assembly Passes Bill To Probe Financial Crimes, Assets Of State

The Anambra State House of Assembly has passed a bill seeking to establish the Anambra State Public Complaints, Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption Commission into law.

The passage followed a resolution adopted during plenary on Thursday, after lawmakers considered amendments made at the Committee of the Whole stage.

The Majority Leader of the House, Ikenna Ofodeme, moved the motion for the third reading of the bill, which was seconded by the Deputy Minority Leader, Nobel Igwe.

Presiding over the plenary, the Speaker of the House, Somtochukwu Udeze, commended the joint committee for its diligence in fine-tuning the bill before its passage.

Udeze put the adoption of the bill to a voice vote, which was unanimously approved by the lawmakers.

He said the law would officially come into effect on February 17.

According to the Speaker, the newly established commission will be responsible for investigating financial crimes and corruption-related cases involving the finances and assets of the Anambra State Government.

He added that the commission would take over such investigations from any other agency or authority within the state and manage all corruption-related cases under its jurisdiction.

“The commission is also mandated to submit regular progress reports to both the Office of the Governor and the Anambra State House of Assembly,” Udeze said.

He further noted that the law provides safeguards to ensure that no resident or indigene of the state suffers injustice as a result of administrative actions taken under the law.

“Special care will be taken to investigate any administrative act that appears to be contrary to established laws and regulations,” he added.