By Nkechi Eze
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has reaffirmed his commitment to holding corrupt public officers accountable. According to Olukoyede, under his leadership, the EFCC will ensure that public officers who engage in corrupt enrichment are brought to justice.
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, organized by the House Committee on Financial Crimes in collaboration with the EFCC at the EFCC Academy in Karu, Abuja.
According to the EFCC chair who spoke through the Commandant of the EFCC Academy, CE 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 Salisu 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 participants to take the knowledge impacted in them seriously, “You are going to learn more about what you know and already used to, but you must continue to learn more, so that by the end of the workshop you will add value to your place of work when you get back,” he said.
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 transparency in governance.
