How governors can dodge EFCC investigation – Olukoyede

From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has disclosed ways elected officials, especially governors, can avoid being investigated at the end of their tenure in office.

According to him, the major ingredients for avoiding investigation by his commission are transparency, accountability, and effective governance. He explained that if officials are committed to such principles, the EFCC would have less to do in the country.

Olukoyede stated this while speaking at the opening of the recently concluded Gombe State Local Government Summit on Local Government Autonomy, Fiscal Responsibility and Sustainable Development, where he commended the Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, describing him as a kind of model that makes the EFCC’s job easier.

The EFCC boss, who spoke on the topic ‘Combating Corruption in Local Governance: Strengthening Accountability and Financial Integrity,’ highlighted the importance of the fight against corruption and the need for officials to shield themselves from investigation by doing the right thing.

He equally acknowledged the collective aspiration for a local government system that aligns with the needs and expectations of grassroots communities.

He noted that corruption entails deviation from acceptable norms and conduct by public officers in pursuit of personal interest at the expense of the public good, such as taking bribes to deliver services they are ordinarily obligated to offer to members of the public, stealing public resources through contract and procurement fraud, as well as outright embezzlement of resources through brazen sharing of public funds, among others.

He said that since the creation of 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria, statutory allocations to the LGAs have amounted to trillions of naira, aside from other sources in the council areas. However, he lamented that despite the huge allocation of funds to the LGAs, the impact had not been felt by the people at the grassroots.

“Councils instead of becoming catalysts for growth have become caricatures, existing only in name,” he stated, adding that the effects of this are seen in the inability of children to attend school and the terrible dilapidation of roads.

He called for the establishment of a compliance department or unit to help ensure compliance with procurement laws, contract and government processes, and regulatory issues, which would assist in monitoring the delivery of projects through a monitoring and evaluation unit.

As the EFCC boss urged communities, traditional rulers, civil society, and the media to monitor the activities of LGA chairmen in their areas, with a view to alerting the commission for immediate intervention, he announced plans to deploy more staff of the anti-graft agency to Gombe and ensure a greater presence in LGAs to monitor their activities.

He equally disclosed that the EFCC had established a new department called ‘Fraud Risk Assessment and Control,’ to address procurement fraud and contract-related fraud in ministries and departments, for enforcement and prevention of fraud.