Joseph Bakare
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has called for stronger purpose and efficiency as measures of tackling economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption.
He made this call in Abuja on Thursday, March 7, 2024 at the Opening Session of a Management Retreat of officers of the EFCC, themed, “Repositioning EFCC for Greater Efficiency”. He stressed that the fight against corruption needed to be fought with vigour, tenacity of purpose, clear focus, doggedness and efficiency to achieve optimal results. “Every success in the fight against corruption will be determined by genuineness, efficiency, and need for higher productivity. Be painstaking in all you do, be thorough with a mind to respect the law”, he said.
He argued that nothing was fundamentally wrong with Nigeria, “with the right attitude, determination and willingness to change, the fight against corruption will yield good results”. He charged officers of the EFCC to be ready to make more sacrifices and add more value to the work of tackling corruption.
He acknowledged the efforts of every officer of the Commission, pointing out that, “ there is no doubting the fact that when you speak of MDAs in Nigeria, EFCC is one of the best. EFCC is the most efficient Agency in Nigeria at the moment. I didn’t say that to make you feel good, I said it from my personal observation and experiences”. He charged the officers not to rest on their oars but adhere to his three-pronged agenda that had been robustly presented to Nigerians . He reiterated the need to respect the rule of law, maintaining that, “getting results is good but the way you get them is more important.
In a presentation, former Acting Director General of the Department of State Security, DSS, Dr. Matthew Seiyefa, noted that the mandate of the EFCC was capable of reinventing the tone of governance of Nigeria because “ the work of the EFCC is more than a duty. It is a mission” . He applauded the successes recorded since Olukoyede assumed office, describing his leadership of the Commission as knowledge-driven.
He warned that a parlous economy is the worst insecurity in any nation, charging other Agencies in Nigeria to collaborate more with the EFCC to improve security situation across the country. “ And herein lies the criticality of the work of the EFCC towards reinventing the tone of governance in the country and by necessary implication, determining the trajectory of the national threat profile. In other words, if the EFCC succeeds in its work, it will result in the positive outcome in the developmental indices nationwide and hence engender salutary outcome in the security environment”, he said.
The Management Retreat, convened for top officers of the Commission, is scheduled to end on Sunday, March 10, 2024.