Professionals association urges members on ethics, good governance

The newly-elected President, Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, Manason Rubainu, has urged professionals in the country to remain ethical and promote good governance.

Rubainu said this on Thursday night in Abuja during his investiture ceremony as the 18th president of the association.

He said, “There are enough professions in Nigeria at the disposal of government organisations to provide services to Nigerians. 

“Nigerian professions, like all over the world, have codes of conduct that control the individual personal behaviour and professional conduct that ensure good quality of services delivery. It is worrisome to witness the failure of governance to meet the needs of the Nigerian society. 

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“We are quick to point at the politicians for this failure. It is true that the political class seem to be occupied by poor leaders and people who cannot mobilise the instruments of governance for quality services delivery to the populace.

“This, however, is not enough explanation for the stated failure. Politicians do not sign checks, they do not raise certificates of valuations, they do not design, value and construct structures that collapse regularly in Nigeria. 

“They do not care for the sick or design disease prevention and control programmes. All these are done by professionals.”

Rubainu noted that unethical practices, either self-motivated, influenced by governance processes, distorted by the political class, or operators of organisation establishments, was largely responsible for poor governance in Nigeria, adding that the APBN was determined to address these issues that were within its competence.

The theme for this year’s investiture, delivered by Maiyaki Bala, SAN, was ‘Professionals and Governance in Nigeria, the 21st Century Expectations.’

Bala called on professionals to acquaint themselves with digital technology in order to support government effectively in policy design and implementation.

The former president, APBN, Mr Akinloye Oyegbola, called on members of the association to get involved in political activities in order to promote the association and to also push for professionalism in governance.