Tunde Bakare
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr. Ola Olukoyede has disclosed that policy reforms are the most result-oriented approach to fighting corruption, economic and financial crimes.
He made the disclosure on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 when the managing director of the Consumer Credit Corporation, Creditcorps, Uzoma Nwagba led his top management team on a courtesy visit to EFCC’s corporate headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.
“Being part of the system, I did a bit of analytical presentation on how we can effectively curb corruption and financial crimes in Nigeria and we have come to the conclusion that it is not just the work of law enforcement agencies alone. As a matter of fact, law enforcement agencies should be at the lowest rung of the ladder in the fight against corruption and economic crimes. Policy reform is the best approach in the fight against corruption all over the world. It is when that fails that enforcement comes in,” he said.
He further disclosed that the Creditcorps scheme was one of the greatest legacies the government of President Tinubu was going to leave for Nigerians, adding that any country without an effective credit transaction system creates conditions that encourage corruption. According to Olukoyede, access to affordable consumer credit significantly reduces the incentive for public servants to engage in fraudulent practices. “Any country that does not have a credit transactional system cannot fight financial crimes because the lack of it creates the propensity for the people to commit financial crimes.”
He recalled having stated on the floor of the Senate during his confirmation that the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes would be much easier if the country could implement a credit system and expressed joy that “eventually, the president came up with the idea.”
The EFCC boss linked the rising wave of cybercrime among young Nigerians to poverty and limited educational opportunities, necessitating the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND. He revealed that the country lost more than $500 million to cybercriminals in 2022 alone.
“I begged for two things, one, consumer credit scheme and the issue of NELFund because of the issue of internet fraud in our country. In 2022 alone we lost over $500 million to the activities of cyber criminals, most of whom are young people who are supposed to be in school. “We are not just interested in sending them to jail. When we interrogate some of them, they tell us, “We want to go to school. We want to graduate with certificates, but cannot afford it. That was how the idea of NELFund came and we said that we needed to support the Fund.”
In praising the students’ loan programme, he disclosed that it has already supported about 1.5 million students, thus reducing the number of young people vulnerable to financial crimes. “Effectively, that has taken about 1.5 million out of my docket of people who have the potential to commit financial crimes. It has done about 1.5 million students, paying their tuition fee and giving them N20,000 per month to support themselves. That is how to fight corruption,” he said.
On Creditcorps, Olukoyede observed that many public servants resort to corrupt practices because their earnings cannot adequately meet their basic needs, including housing, transportation, education and feeding.