The Enugu State Government has held a two-day capacity-building programme aimed at strengthening public officials' compliance with anti-corruption policies and financial regulatory frameworks. The training, themed "Enhancing Governance through Compliance: Navigating Anti-Corruption Policies, Financial Regulations and Emerging Taxation Frameworks," targeted elected officials, political appointees, principal officers and senior civil servants across the state. Declaring the programme open, Governor Peter Mbah β€” represented by Secretary to the State Government Prof. Chidiebere Onyia β€” said the training was designed to deepen understanding of anti-corruption laws, financial regulations and emerging tax policies while reinforcing ethical standards in public governance. He described corruption as one of the biggest obstacles to development, arguing that diverted resources directly undermine the state's ability to deliver essential services. "Every naira lost to corruption, financial misconduct and non-compliance often deprives the people of the state of quality social services and critical infrastructure," Mbah said, pointing to his administration's three governing principles β€” transparency, traceability and accountability β€” as the framework shaping the state's procurement systems, e-governance initiatives and financial management. He urged participants to relay what they learned to colleagues across ministries, departments and agencies, and pledged continued monitoring of compliance across the public service. The training was facilitated by Xavine Consulting Limited, whose managing director, Catherine Kadiri, said the sessions were built to close gaps in officials' understanding of ethical and operational standards, drawing on 16 resource persons β€” including experts from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigeria's financial regulatory sector β€” to expose participants to global best practices. She noted the programme reflects the administration's view that its goal of building a $30 billion state economy depends on a disciplined, accountable public service. Consultant Justin Kuatsea, a certified management trainer and retired ICPC deputy director, told participants that corruption in Nigeria has become deeply entrenched and can only be tackled through collective action and leadership by example, identifying employment irregularities, recruitment abuses, concealment of official files, irregular promotions and contract inflation among the common red flags officials should learn to recognize. The training follows Enugu's passage last year of a bill establishing a state-level Anti-Corruption and Transparency Commission, intended to complement federal bodies like the EFCC in investigating financial crimes involving individuals and government agencies within the state.