The event, which was funded by the European Union (EU), was to create public awareness on anti-corruption, rule of law and accountability issues to help reduce corruption in institutions.

Mr Tahiru Imoro, the Zabzugu District Director, said corruption was a major obstacle to democracy, and that, institutions lost their values when they were misused for private gains. He indicated that corruption hindered the development of fair market structures and distorted competition, which put off investors.

He said the impact of corruption was hard on public life, emphasising that in a society where the act was prevalent, the people lived difficult lives.  He said transparency was key, to fighting the malpractice, and that, it ensured that officials acted visibly, saying “Transparency and truth are the surest ways of guarding against corruption”.

Mr Imoro appealed to the public to show high level of commitment toward the fight against corruption and report any cases of the deed to the appropriate institutions.  He admonished the public to stop activities which caused environmental degradation and said they had devastating consequence on human lives.

He encouraged the public to plant trees to replace the lost ones to help protect the environment.