Initiative for Ethics and Value Orientation; Northern Youth Frontiers; Niger Delta Youth Congress; National Movement for Democratic Change and other anti-graft crusaders, yesterday, asked Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, to step aside for his investigation on corruption allegations.

The groups also urged the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to prioritise corruption cases, stressing that the menace is a cross-national issue that affects everyone regardless of status and location.

The call was contained in a statement signed by National Coordinator, Niger Delta Youth Congress, Israel Uwejeyan; National Coordinator, Initiative for Ethics and Value Orientation, Bello Idowu and National President, Northern Youth Frontiers, Mustapha Musa.

The bodies maintained that if a government agency expected to fight crime is found going about its business in a manner that suggests witch-hunt and selective justice amid seeming inability to allegedly contain corruption within its own workforce, the nation is headed for crisis and confidence deficit.

They said: “Like every other agency of government everywhere, there are global standards of practice for officials, who had been accused of gross misconduct to step aside, while investigations were conducted to ascertain the veracity of the allegations.

“Several eminent Nigerians have claimed to possess evidence of corrupt practices, breach of public trust and abuse of office against the EFCC and its Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa. It is based on the above observations that the Initiative for Ethics and Value Orientation, Northern Youth Frontiers, Niger Delta Youth Congress, National Movement for Democratic Change and 107 anti-corruption crusade groups deem it necessary to demand that Bawa excuses himself from office and surrender for investigation.

“We demand that if Bawa remains adamant, he should be forced out and subjected to a comprehensive probe the way his predecessor, Ibrahim Magu, was made to do.”

The groups went on: “Since it is obvious by now that the Buhari administration, which brought Bawa, is not disposed to initiating action, we call on the incoming President-elect Bola Tinubu to make it first priority to cleanse the EFCC of corrupt leaders.

“Corruption is one of the most serious social and security challenges facing Nigeria today, which is the reason why Tinubu should see it as an existential matter that needs to be addressed and tackled robustly and defeated once and for all. No nation can aspire to greatness or seek to remain secure and safe when corruption and other corrupt practices are allowed to find their way into all its vital institutions, including the agency saddled with the responsibility of fighting it.”