He addressed this during the Chairman of the ICPC's executive session with the chief executives of government organisations.
The Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, the training and research branch of the ICPC, organised it as a component of their training.
The training, which was funded by the MacArthur Foundation and attended by heads of agencies and vice-chancellors of higher education institutions, was designed to improve the behaviour change of heads of public agencies toward developing strategies to prevent corrupt practices and promote transparency, honesty, and accountability in and outside of their working environment.
Declaring the event open, the ICPC Chairman, who was represented by a Board Member, Dr Louis S. Mandama, stated that the Commission organised the training as part of its prevention mandate to help CEOs identify corruption risks and develop appropriate prevention measures, and also avoid common leadership pitfalls that sometimes result in investigation and eventual prosecution.
He added that the session was aimed to empower CEOs with the required knowledge and strategies to start and finish their services with their head held high.
Owasanoye further urged CEOs to avoid both internal and external pitfalls, adding that the gathering would avail them the opportunity to share ideas, experiences and strategies on how to handle issues, particularly institutionalised practices that are traps set to make them complicit in future corrupt practices.
He reiterated that it was imperative for them to know the dos and don’ts of leadership so they do not become victims or get co-opted into aiding and abetting corruption within their agencies, and urged the CEOs to develop collective and individual strategies for corruption prevention in the course of performing their official responsibilities.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Provost of ACAN, Prof. Olatunde Babawale, stated that the presentations, experience and knowledge-sharing sessions were designed to support the CEOs to understand how social norms are a double-edged sword that could either enhance or prevent corruption.
Babawale also stated that at the end of the session, CEOs would enjoy the benefit of being better placed to prevent corruption and corrupt practices in their organisations and also avoid tumbling into pitfalls.