Buhari Cautions EFCC Against Political Interference
POLITICS DIGEST – President Muhammadu Buhari has admonished the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to avoid being used for partisan politics, or get dragged into personal disputes, urging focus on serving the nation to entrench good governance.
The President, who spoke at the Unveiling of the EFCC Standard Operating Procedures, Policies and Manuals, at the State House, 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.
“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 N152billion and $385m.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, 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 institutionalization of operational procedures particularly as they form the building blocks of transparency and accountability in administration and public expenditure,’’ he said.
President Buhari also commended the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, for efforts to further institutionalize the commission by developing twenty-six (26) Standard Operating Procedures and twenty-five (25) Policies and Manuals for the Departments, Units and Staff of the Commission, while appreciating the support of the Board, Management and Staff.
Read Also:
President Buhari said the development of the Standards demonstrate the commitment of this 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 eighteen 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.
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.
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.
He said the 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.
 to avoid being used for partisan politics,){kind=link}