Abuja, May 29, 2018 (AltAfrika)-The immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has accused members of the National Assembly of being the most corrupt in the arm of government, by seeking for bribes to carry out their constitutional duties.

He disclosed this on Monday while delivering this year’s Democracy Day lecture at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja themed, “Peace Building and Good Governance for Sustainable Development in Nigeria”.

“Some chairmen of committees at the National Assembly are notorious for seeking for bribes. I spoke to quite a number of chief executives who complained of high demand for bribes from members of the National Assembly in the name of the so-called oversight functions,” Jega said.

He said the present administration should resist the temptation of restricting its ongoing anti-corruption war to embezzlement and theft alone.

He said the scope of the anti-corruption fight should be extended to cover bribe taking and giving especially in government agencies.

Jega said, “The fight against corruption has to be intensified in all its ramifications. There are many successes achieved which are commendable but the magnitude of the problem on the ground is turning these into drops in the ocean.

“Members of the National Assembly engage in bribe taking when they pursue committee works and oversight and I wonder what is happening with intelligence and investigative responsibilities of  security agencies in policing our National Assembly

According to him, Nigeria needs to develop capacity, institutions, structures and processes of peace building for sustainable development domestically.

“Ultimately, attention has to be focused on strengthening electoral integrity and deepening democracy, as the framework for engendering good democratic governance in our country,” he said.

He also called for more roles for women and youths, saying that despite some efforts, Nigeria is still lagging behind some African countries.

The event was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara; Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Gida Mustapha; Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, Interior Minister, Abdulrahman Dambazau, and other top government personalities.