Liberia: LACC Executive Chair Becomes VP for West African Anti-Corruption Bodies Association

Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin, Executive Chairman of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), has been elected as the vice President for the association of West African Anti-Corruption Bodies.

A dispatch from Abuja, Nigeria, said Martin received the overwhelming support of his colleagues from the sub region on the basis of his robust and unrelenting approach in helping in the fight against corruption in Liberia since he assumed office.

Martin, who was the County Attorney for Montserrado prior to his appointment by President George Weah to the position of Executive Chairman of the LACC, has embarked on dealing with notable corruption cases involving public officials, with the latest being the senior officials, including the Minister of Agriculture and the Chairperson of the National Elections Commission (NEC).

“The West African Anti-Corruption Chiefs meeting in the Nigerian Capital Abuja have elected the Executive Chairperson of the LACC, Edwin Kla Martin as its new Vice President for the Regional Group, Edwin J. Clarke, LACC communications and Public Affairs director said in a press statement referencing the dispatch from Abuja where Martin is attending the regional heads of anti-corruption commissions conference.

Clarke’s press statement added: “Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin received overwhelming support from colleagues in the sub-region to clinch the post.  Speaking to journalists in Abuja after his election, Cllr. Martin promised to work with colleagues in the sub-region to reduce opportunities for corruption and bring greater happiness to ECOWAS citizens through effective coordination among anti-graft bodies in the fight against corruption.”

The statement quoted Cllr. Martin as saying, “There is no other alternative to economic prosperity in West Africa than an aggressive fight against corruption and abuse.”

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria, Abdurasheed Bawa, is said to have been elected President of the organization of heads of anti-graft institutions in West Africa.

Having replaced Sierra Leone’s Anti-graft Chief, Francis Ben Kaifala, Bawa and his team of elected officials, including Cllr. Martin, will steer the affairs of the organization for two years; this means their tenure of office will run from March 2022 to March 2024.