The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has restated that the Commission under his leadership will not allow public officers who corruptly enrich themselves go unpunished.
He
restated
this
recently
at the
opening
ceremony
of
a
three-day
workshop
on
Anti-corruption, Fiscal
Responsibility,
Transparency
and
Good
Governance
for
state
and
local
government officials,
According to the EFCC chair who spoke through the Commandant of the EFCC Academy, Deputy Commandant of the EFCC, DCE Chinwe Ndubeze, “The EFCC under my leadership will have no sympathy for public officers who breach the rules to enrich themselves or their cronies,” adding that the outcome of the training will be a turning point in the culture of accountability and integrity in public service as it would equip public officers in the different tiers of government on financial best practices.
While noting that fiscal responsibility was at the heart of any accountable government’s public service delivery he disclosed that “70 percent of the problem that Nigeria faces in the public sector is down to poor fiscal transparency. In every budget cycle trillions of naira are appropriated to cater for the nation’s pressing infrastructural, social and economic needs. Instead, we have had the terrible misfortune of rules being circumvented and funds diverted or out rightly stolen through various sharp practices in the procurement value chain, while the rest of us suffer the consequence of the indiscretion of a few corrupt public officers.”
Speaking further he stated that “As public officers, you occupy a vantage position to determine the fortune of this nation. Nigeria with all its human and natural resources has no business being poor but corruption is the albatross that has held this nation captive.”
In his remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Financial Crimes, Honourable Ginger Onwusibe who was represented by the clerk of the committee, Austin Adesoro advocated for the promotion of the Whistle Blowing Policy in public offices and charged the participants to see corruption as public enemy number one. “Public office demands a lot of sacrifices, not for pleasure. Nigeria needs accountable institutions to deliver on her mandate. The integrity of leaders is vital and corrupt officers must be sanctioned for corrupt practices. That’s why we need collaboration at all levels” he said.
Representative of the Independent Corrupt Practices & other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Hassan Salifu applauded the EFCC and the House Committee on Financial Crimes for the laudable initiative and urged the participants to deploy the opportunity of the training at the workshop in the blocking of loopholes in the system.
“Indeed, this is a timely and necessary intervention, particularly at a time when financial integrity and accountability must be at the forefront of governance at both federal and state and local government levels,” he said.
Kinsley Amaku, who represented the Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Intelligence Unit, NFIU, in his goodwill message stated that the fight against corruption required not just enforcement but also a well-informed public sector that understands the legal and institutional frameworks designed to promote transparency.
Honourable
Mathew
Kolawale ,
who
spoke
for
Barclays
Consult Group,
praised
the EFCC
and
the
legislators for
organizing
the
workshop and urged the
Speaking
on
behalf
of
the
Chairman,
Code
of
Conduct
Bureau,
Dr
Abdullahi
Usman
Bello,
Professor
Juwayriya
Badamasi
noted
that
bridging
the
knowledge
gap
in
anti-corruption
laws
was
essential
for
strengthening
the
integrity
of
governance
in the
country
and
emphasized the
need
for enhanced anti-corruption
advocacy for greater
Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
February 9, 2025
Credit: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
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