The Federal Government has urged the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to develop and implement homegrown anti-corruption strategies to strengthen transparency, accountability and public service delivery.

The call was made on Wednesday at a three-day workshop on the implementation tools for the Plateau State Integrity and Accountability Strategy, PLASIAS, in Jos.

The Head of the National Anti-Corruption Secretariat, Mrs Victoria Ojogbane, who represented the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said only seven states had so far commenced the implementation of subnational anti-corruption strategies.

She commended Plateau State for being among the seven states and noted that the state had gone beyond developing its strategy by preparing an action plan scheduled for validation on Aug. 28.

Ojogbane said the national anti-corruption framework was built around five pillars: prevention, public engagement, ethical reorientation, enforcement and sanctions, and recovery of proceeds of corruption.

She stressed that state-level ownership was essential to translating the national strategy into practical reforms.

“Corruption is not abstract. It is why a clinic has no drugs, a school has no roof, and a borehole has no water,” Ojogbane said, noting that corruption directly affected public trust and service delivery.

She commended Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the state Head of Service for their commitment to implementing the strategy.

The Lead Consultant on Transparency and Accountability for the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme, Prof. Ada Chidi Igbokwe, said the workshop was designed to provide institutions with practical tools to move PLASIAS from policy to implementation.

The State Project Coordinator of ROLAC in Plateau, Mantim Dala, said accountability lapses had weakened governance and affected service delivery in sectors including health, education, housing and infrastructure.

He urged participants to use the strategy to strengthen ethical standards in public institutions, stressing that it was designed to prevent corruption rather than witch-hunt public officials.

The workshop, organised by ROLAC with funding from the European Union and implementation by International IDEA, brought together government institutions, civil society organisations and local government stakeholders to finalise implementation structures for PLASIAS.