Theme: Uniting with the Youths Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity
The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD Nigeria) joins Nigerians and the international community to commemorate the 2025 International Anti-Corruption Day, themed “Uniting with the Youths Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity.” This year’s theme underscores the urgent need to mobilize young people as central actors in rebuilding Nigeria’s moral, economic and democratic foundations.
Corruption remains one of the most destructive forces undermining development, eroding public trust, discouraging investment, and deepening poverty. FENRAD notes with concern the persistent gaps in Nigeria’s anti-corruption architecture, particularly the lack of synergy among critical institutions mandated to prevent, investigate, and prosecute corruption-related offences.
Today, FENRAD calls for a nationwide, coordinated, multi-institutional response to corruption. We urge the Federal Government to strengthen collaboration among the EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau, NFIU, Police, Judiciary, and state-level anti-corruption bodies. Fragmented efforts and overlapping mandates continue to weaken accountability and allow economic crimes to flourish.
The Role of Youths: Our Greatest National Asset
Nigeria’s youths—energetic, innovative, digitally empowered—must be placed at the center of the national anti-corruption movement. FENRAD urges government agencies, civil society, private sector stakeholders, and educational institutions to:
Integrate anti-corruption education into school curricula
Support youth-led accountability initiatives and digital reporting platforms
Promote values of integrity, transparency, and civic responsibility
Engage young people in policy dialogues, community monitoring, and public-sector oversight
Young Nigerians are not only the leaders of tomorrow—they are the drivers of today’s reforms. Empowering them to resist, report, and reject corruption is essential for shaping a future rooted in integrity.
Strengthening Institutions, Strengthening Nigeria
To effectively combat corruption, FENRAD further recommends:
1. Enhanced inter-agency data-sharing and joint investigations
2. Stricter protection for whistleblowers and civic factors
3. Timely prosecution of high-profile corruption cases
4. Increased transparency in public procurement and budgeting
5. Use of technology—AI, digital registries, and e-governance—to reduce human discretion and leakages
Nigeria cannot win the fight against corruption with isolated or politicized efforts. Collective action, supported by a coordinated institutional framework, is the only sustainable path.
A Call to Action
As we mark Anti-Corruption Day 2025, FENRAD Nigeria reaffirms its commitment to promoting accountability, defending citizens’ rights, and strengthening democratic institutions. We call on every Nigerian—especially the youth—to uphold ethical values, speak out against wrongdoing, and join us in shaping a nation where integrity thrives.
Signed:
Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor
Executive Director
FENRAD Nigeria
Phone; 08033383708,07062949232
Email info@fenrad.org.ng
www.fenrad.org.ng
