EFCC denies defaulting in report submission to National Assembly

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed a report that failed to submit its annual report to the National Assembly by September 30, 2021, as demanded by law.

Also, the anti-graft agency faulted the claim that the act establishing it was missing from its website.

The commission was reacting to an article by a newspaper columnist claiming that it refused to submit its yearly report to the federal lawmaking body by September 30, 2021, as required by law.

EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, who described the claim as false, asked the writer to apologise to the commission for misleading the public.

“The commission has duly fulfilled its obligation to the National Assembly in this regard. The annual report was transmitted to the National Assembly on September 30, 2021, as it has always done since 2003.”

Section 37 of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, states: “The Commission shall, not later than September 30 in each year, submit to the National Assembly a report of its activities during the immediately preceding year and shall include in such report the audited account of the Commission.”

The EFCC spokesperson, however, said that the law does not mandate a ceremony as part of the submission’s obligation.

Uwujaren added: “EFCC submitted its 2021 yearly report, right on schedule to the two chambers of the National Assembly. EFCC has never been in default in the submission of yearly reports to the National Assembly.

The truth is that since the Commission was established in 2003, it has never defaulted, not even once, in submitting its yearly report to the National Assembly, on or before September 30 every year. Even in the year, it commenced operation after its inauguration in April 2003, the EFCC still submitted a yearly report to the National Assembly before September 30, 2003.

“It is curious that a journalist made no attempt to verify his fact before publishing. In this instance, he neither sought to know from the Commission whether it had submitted the annual report nor did he verify from the National Assembly whether it was in receipt of the report.”