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ABUJA – \u00a0Thursday 5th May 2016 <\/b><\/p>\n
ONE in partnership with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and the Nigerian Ministry of Justice is convening the Nigeria Anti-Corruption Summit on 5 May to engage African leadership on effective outcomes for the 2016 International Anti-Corruption Summit to be held in London next week.<\/span><\/p>\n As the recent Panama Papers show, flaws in the global financial system enable corrupt individuals to hide details of their financial affairs under the noses of governments and law enforcement agencies. These are vast amounts of money, and even if a portion was taxed this could help finance developing countries\u2019 fight against extreme poverty.<\/span><\/p>\n “Nigeria has to defeat corruption and build a new culture of accountability to be able to lift her people out of poverty. Addressing illicit financial flows and developing a solid international framework for accountability is fundamental” says Udo Jude Ilo, Nigeria Country Officer and Head of Office, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).<\/p>\n \u201cDeveloping countries are deprived of much needed revenues for health, education and development by these illicit flows,\u201d says Mwambu Wanendeya, Africa Director of the ONE Campaign. \u201cWhile poor governance and corruption must be rooted out, we should not forget the role played by secret companies, banks and law firms all too often based in G20 countries and their related offshore centres. The world\u2019s poorest people are paying the price for the siphoning of money out of African countries.\u201d<\/p>\n Corrupt individuals know they can conceal their identities through anonymous shell companies which then funnel the cash into other companies, property and assets.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe true scale of the damage caused by these types of corruption is illustrated by the broad range of organisations contributing to this event and the continent-wide effort to turn the tide against corruption. Every organisation focuses on particular issues, but are all working towards the same goal: ending corruption.\u201d says Oluseun Onigbinde, lead partner of BudgIT.<\/p>\n OSIWA and ONE are working with the Nigerian Government on this summit in Abuja to: <\/span><\/p>\n ONE has laid out key areas for the Anti-Corruption Summit to take action and set a global standard of Fair Play:<\/p>\n ONE also supports the platforms and positions of Nigerian partners such as Enough is Enough and BudgIT and the full implementation of Nigerian government commitments in the fight against corruption especially around the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI)<\/p>\n ENDS<\/b><\/p>\n Note for editors:<\/b><\/p>\n Data from the Panama Papers has helped reveal the extent of money held in cities such as London and Paris that is associated with corrupt officials:<\/p>\n The $400 billion<\/span> lost to \u2018oil thieves\u2019 in Nigeria between 1960 and 2012 means every year over $7 billion is lost and annually this could have:<\/span><\/p>\n To calculate what $400 billion of oil revenues lost to theft in Nigeria could have been used to purchase, we first calculated the annual average amount lost to theft, dividing $400 billion by 52, the number of years between 1960 and 2012, the year the statistic was cited. The resultant $7.7 billion annual loss was then used to calculate the health and education improvements that could have been funded each year, using 2013 US dollars: <\/span><\/p>\n (Source: <\/span>https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/one.org\/pdfs\/Trillion_Dollar_Scandal_report_EN.pdf<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n About ONE:<\/b><\/p>\n ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of over seven million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. Read more at<\/span> www.one.org<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n About OSIWA:<\/b><\/p>\n OSIWA plays a dual role in the region as both an advocate and grant-maker by enabling itself to be agenda-setters both within and alongside other organizations working on the ground. The Foundation works through a unique combination of <\/span>grant making<\/span><\/a>, advocacy, partnership building and technical assistance. OSIWA has carved its niche through a two-pronged strategic focus: strengthening both democratic institutions and structures and civic participation in decision-making. OSIWA is active in ten countries in West Africa (<\/span>Benin<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Cote d\u2019Ivoire<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Ghana<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Guinea<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Liberia<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Mali<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Niger<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Nigeria<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Sierra Leone<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Senegal<\/span><\/a>) with <\/span>offices<\/span><\/a> based in five of them. Read more at<\/span> http:\/\/www.osiwa.org\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n About BudgIT:<\/b><\/p>\n\n
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