Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has called on political appointees and civil servants to fully embrace transparency, accountability and traceability as the guiding principles of public service.

Speaking at the opening of a two-day training programme on compliance with anti-corruption policies and financial regulations, the governor said corruption, financial misconduct and failure to comply with established rules reduce the resources available for essential public services and infrastructure.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Chidiebere Onyia, Mbah explained that the training was organised to strengthen compliance with anti-corruption laws, financial regulations and emerging taxation frameworks while promoting ethical conduct across the state public service.

He stressed that public officers can no longer rely on ignorance of the law as an excuse for non-compliance and encouraged participants to share the knowledge gained with colleagues in their various ministries, departments and agencies.The governor also assured that the administration would continue to monitor compliance across the public service.

During the programme, anti-corruption consultant Justin Kuatsea identified common forms of corruption in government, including recruitment irregularities, contract inflation, payments for jobs not carried out, improper promotions and concealment of official records.He maintained that fighting corruption requires both personal integrity and leadership by example from political office holders.

Catherine Kadiri, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Xavine Consulting Limited, said the training was designed to improve understanding of governance standards, financial regulations and taxation laws.

She noted that 16 resource persons, including experts from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigeria's financial regulatory sector, were engaged to expose participants to global best practices.

According to her, building an ethical, responsible and accountable public service is essential to achieving the Mbah administration's long-term economic development goals.