Refrain from being used for partisan gains, Buhari charges EFCC

•Hails Recovery Of Looted Funds
•Bawa: Commission Undergoing Reforms

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja admonished the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to avoid being used for partisan gains.

The President also advised operatives of the anti-graft agency against being dragged into personal disputes, urging them to rather focus on serving the nation to entrench good governance.

The President spoke at the unveiling of the EFCC Standard Operating Procedures, Policies and Manuals, at the State House, Abuja, where he advised leaders and operatives of the Commission to resist the temptation of being influenced by political actors for personal gains or to score political points.

“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,” he said.

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

“I am glad to note that the war against corruption, which is one of the cardinal objectives of this administration, 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,” he added.

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.

The President, who also appreciated the support of the Board, Management and Staff of the Commission, added: “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.”

He continued: “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 demonstrates the commitment of the 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.”

In his remarks, the EFCC Chairman 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.

Bawa 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.

He 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.

He said the EFCC already has 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.

“I will lead an agency that will be the pride of our country, Nigeria,” he pledged.