Buhari to EFCC: Avoid Being Used By Political Actors to Settle Personal Scores

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

 President Muhammadu Buhari has charged the leadership and operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to avoid being used for partisan politics, or get dragged into personal disputes.

Rather, he said they should focus on serving the nation to entrench good governance.

Speaking at the unveiling of the EFCC Standard Operating Procedures, Policies and Manuals, at the State House, Abuja, yesterday, the President advised leaders and all operatives of the commission to resist the temptation of being influenced by political actors for personal gains or to score political points.

He said: “I must advise the leadership and operatives of this commission to resist the temptation of being used for partisan politics or be dragged into personal disputes. Your job is to serve the nation in its efforts to entrench good governance.”

The President noted the excellent performance of the leadership of the EFCC in securing 2,220 convictions and recovering over N152 billion and $385m in the last one year.

He expressed gladness that the war against corruption, which is one of the cardinal objectives of his government, is being strengthened through the institutionalisation of operational procedures particularly as they form the building blocks of transparency and accountability in administration and public expenditure.

President Buhari also commended the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, for efforts to further institutionalise the commission by developing 26 Standard Operating Procedures and 25 Policies and Manuals for the Departments, Units and Staff of the Commission, while appreciating the support of the Board, Management and Staff.

According to him: “These outstanding feats achieved are being unveiled today and I would like to use this opportunity to encourage other Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, especially Law Enforcement Agencies to also ensure the standardisation of their processes within the extant laws and regulations as provided in our statutes.

“I need not underscore the importance of today’s occasion but let me remind you that the stakes are high but national expectations are higher. Therefore, we must continue to strive and deal decisively with matters in accordance with the rule of law.

“On the part of the government, we shall continue to accord all necessary support to MDAs in order to ensure the sustainability of the initiatives already commenced in actualising our vision of a corrupt free society.

“Let me conclude by saying that the fight against economic and financial crimes in Nigeria is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians if we are to make meaningful progress as a nation.

“I invite you all to fight corruption in all its ramifications and join us to entrench good governance values and integrity within all our systems. As I have often said, “If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us as a nation.”

President Buhari said the development of the standards demonstrate the commitment of his administration to the fight against corruption and the acceptance of transparency and willingness to be subjected to scrutiny against set standards by  services.

“This is a confirmation of national efforts against graft,’’ he said, adding: “I understand from your remarks Mr. Chairman, that these are the first collection of policy documents ever developed in the 18 years of the Commission’s existence aimed at defining the institutional rules and operational guidelines while instituting uniformity in standards, improving efficiency and removing discretion from your operations. These are indeed remarkable achievements and are very commendable.’’

The President assured of a rules-based-system in government business while providing the necessary enabling environment for effective implementation.

“You may recall Ladies and Gentlemen, that since we came into power in 2015, we have consistently demonstrated the necessary political will to fight corruption. We have ensured the operational independence of the anti-graft agencies, strengthened the legal framework, empowered the regulatory agencies and provided adequate funding to support the fight against corruption,’’ he added.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of EFCC noted that the institution was undergoing various phases of reforms to reposition it for the task of fighting financial crimes in the country, with production of policies and manuals.

He thanked the President and the National Assembly for the confidence reposed in his “ability and competence’’ to take over the leadership of the organisation in 2021.

Bawa said departments had been reorganised and upgraded, including intelligence gathering, training and the academic institutions, to meet the demands of the job, adding that a software had been developed for operations, and a mobile app, “The Evil Eye’’, deployed for ease of reporting economic and financial crimes from the comfort of homes.

According to him, EFCC already had a five-year strategic plan, 2021-2025, with clear and measurable targets, based on five objectives, which include improving public engagement to fight crimes, systems and processes for prevention, intelligence gathering, prosecution and law enforcement.

He promised to lead an agency that will be the pride of Nigeria as a nation