Joseph Bakare
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has commended the gradual improvement of positive behaviuoral changes among Nigerians towards the Naira.
He made the commendation in Abuja on Monday, June 3 2024 during an interview session with the EFCC Radio, 97.3 FM program called the Mandate. He noted that Nigerians are now embracing the fight against Naira abuse the right way as people are now paying attention to what they have taken for granted despite the level of resistance at the beginning.
Olukoyede, who spoke through the Spokesperson of the Commission, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE I Dele Oyewale stated that the Naira was our country`s identity, symbol and legal tender within the territorial integrity of Nigeria, adding that all hands must be on desk to protect the honor and sanctity of the system as commendable changes have been achieved across the economy.
“If you go to parties, nobody is abusing the Naira as it used to be because people know that it is no longer business as usual, people are now paying attention to what they have taken for granted, they now study the law of the land. So, we should applaud the courage of the Executive Chairman for choosing to restore the sanctity of our identity. We are carrying out this mandate by ensuring that laws that are already in place are duly obeyed and it takes courage to do this because attacks are coming left, right and center. You can see that we are ahead, people are beginning to come to terms with the laws. Right now, we have got close to 50 convictions in this regard” he said.
When asked about what law backed the Commission on the abuse of Naira, the EFCC boss pointed out Section 7, Sub Section 2 of the EFCC Establishment Act 2004 empowers the EFCC to coordinate and enforce all laws regarding economic and financial crimes. “Section 21 of the CBN Act also forbids currency abuse and the Central Bank of Nigeria has come out to advice Nigerians against the stapling, counterfeiting, selling, buying, spraying, writing, tearing, and mutilation of the Naira note. In fact, even if you reject the Naira, it is a crime and the likely penalty is stated in the CBN Act: an imprisonment of nothing less than six months or fine of N50,000 or both, so ignorance of the law is not an excuse”, he said.
When asked about the sensitization measures to enlighten Nigerians, he said that the rigorous campaigns of the Commission are progressive and it will continue, stressing that, “those who do not know will soon know as the Commission is employing all stakeholders in all sectors to pass the message down to the grassroots using all forms of media”
“Our publicity strategy is very broad and fully- integrated. It covers the broadcast, print and social media online. Messages are also relayed locally in different languages because we want to penetrate the grassroots. So, a lot is going on and more will be done”, he said.