EFCC denies appointing Ekweremadu anti-corruption ambassador

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has denied appointing and decorating the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, as  its “Anti-Corruption Ambassador”.

Ekweremadu was allegedly decorated by the EFCC National Assembly Liaison Officer, one Suleiman Bakari, who claimed to have done so on behalf of the management and staff of the EFCC “as a token of our appreciation to your person and office, and as a symbol of the institutional partnership between the EFCC and the National Assembly”.

But in a statement on Wednesday, the Commission said Bakari did not act on his behalf and that his action was outside his liaison officer brief.

“He was never instructed by the Acting Chairman nor mandated by the management and staff of the Commission to decorate Ekweremadu or any officer of the National Assembly as ‘Anti- Corruption Ambassador,” EFCC said in the statement.

“The Commission views this highly unprofessional and conduct of the officer as yet another manifestation of ‘Corruption Fighting Back.’ This leg of the despicable campaign, which is, unfortunately, being carried out by a staff of the Commission, had been foreshadowed in recent weeks by other questionable acts.”

The Commission said that contrary to Bakari’s action, it is not in the habit of awarding titles to individuals.

The statement further reads: “All through last week, some courts issued a string of anti-EFCC rulings looking like calculated attempts to derail the anti-corruption war, even as there were indications of the capture of a prominent section of the media by dark forces.

“The picture of organized corruption marshaling its evil forces to launch a sustained fight-back becomes clearer, if cognizance is taken of the bewildering insistence of the Senate to carry on with the ill-advised amendment of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Code of Conduct Tribunal Act as well as the inexplicable provisions proposed for amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

“Let it be underscored that the statutory mandate of the EFCC is the investigation and prosecution of all economic and financial crimes cases, which does not include phoney decoration of any individual as “Anti-corruption Ambassador”. That award and title are unknown to the EFCC and could not have been invested as purported, on behalf of the Acting Chairman, Management and staff of the EFCC.

Members of the public and stakeholders in the fight against corruption are enjoined to disregard the so-called decoration, while stern administrative action is being taken on the clearly misdirected officer who acted entirely without authorization.”