The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, expressed deep concern over the scale of corruption in the country, emphasizing the staggering amounts stolen by corrupt individuals.
He revealed that upon reviewing case files and witnessing the enormity of these thefts, he often questions how Nigeria manages to function, suggesting that if Nigerians were privy to these details, it would evoke profound sadness.
These remarks were conveyed during a meeting where he received the management team of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, led by Chairman Mohammed Shehu, as stated in a release by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday.
“When I look at some case files and see the humongous amount of money stolen, I wonder how we are still surviving. If you see some case files, you will weep. The way they move unspent budget allocation to private accounts in commercial banks before midnight at the end of a budget circle, you will wonder what kind of spirit drives us as Nigerians,” Olukoyede was quoted as saying.
He also said public corruption ranks as the biggest cause of corruption in Nigeria.
He pointed out that if public corruption was taken out of the polity, the country would fare better than many countries of the world.
He said, “A situation where somebody would hold a public office or position of trust for years and you call him to account and he says No, he would not account, is not acceptable.”
He stressed that transparency and accountability should be embedded in both the public and private sectors for optimal development of the country.
While noting that corruption poses a huge challenge to the country, Olukoyede expressed optimism that the prevention mechanisms of his leadership would ensure that the commission stays ahead of the devices of the corrupt to ensure that Nigerians have good governance experiences.
“He insisted that the preventive framework of tackling corruption offers more prospects of results and impact. To this end, the EFCC now has a Department of Fraud Risk and Assessment and Control
“Let’s look at our system of revenue generation. It is a system that allows leakages in mobilisation and appropriation of funds. If we don’t look at the system, we will continue to chase shadows. In this direction, we are not just going to investigate and recover; what we have decided to do in the EFCC is Policy Review. If we can block some of these leakages and have 50 per cent of capital project execution in Nigeria, the country would be fine,” the statement added.
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