Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, has expressed support for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), in its campaign against economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption.
The Attorney General stressed that, the Commission is pivotal to President Bola Tinubu’s plan to entrench a culture of accountability in governance.
Fagbemi was speaking in Ilorin, Kwara State at the commissioning of the new office complex of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC.
He said that, Tinubu was determined to free Nigeria from the grip of corruption, noting that the EFCC was pivotal to the actualization of the plan.
“The EFCC is pivotal in the Tinubu administration’s plan to remove impediment to accountability in governing institutions and strengthening mechanisms and platforms by which Nigerians can hold public officers to account”.
Fagbemi explained that, the recovery and repatriation of Nigeria stolen wealth was an issue of great concern to the administration stressing that, “the EFCC is expected to continue to lead the charge to trace, recover and facilitate the return of our stolen wealth.”
To achieve this, the Attorney General explained the government’s plans to embark on reforms aimed at strengthening legal frameworks geared towards improving the Commission’s investigation and assets recovery efforts.
The chief law officer reminded officers of the Commission of their obligations to always conduct their affairs strictly in accordance with the rule of law.
“Beyond providing accommodation for the personnel of the Commission, it is the contemplation of this administration to remove every institutional and legal obstacle encumbering the Commission.
Myself and the Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede are in accord on this, and I hope all personnel of the Commission will appreciate the fact that corruption is best fought within the ambit of the law”. Fagbemi said.
Speaking Earlier, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede charged officers of the Commission to be steadfast in their efforts to sanitise the business environment and support the nation’s drive to attract foreign direct investment, (FDI), by tackling economic and financial crimes of all hues, stressing that there would be no excuse for non-performance.
He reiterated his commitment to refocus the anti-corruption war by adopting modalities capable of stimulating economic growth and development in the overall interests of Nigerians.
He described the commissioning of the Ilorin Zonal Command’s office complex as “a dream come true”, pointing out that the occasion was a fulfilment of a promise he made a few days ago when he was in Ilorin on a familiarisation visit.
The EFCC boss commended the Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for his contribution to the successful delivery of the project.
He also acknowledged the support of the Presidency and the National Assembly in appropriating funds for the completion of the project.
The EFCC Chair while commending the Ilorin Zonal Command for the successes recorded particularly in the mining sector, urged officers of the Commission to intensify efforts on the actualization of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu administration in the solid minerals sector.
“I expect to see more vigorous enforcement of the law against illegal miners to ensure the actualisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Bola Tinubu administration in the solid minerals sector”, he said.
Also, Kwara State governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq noted that the fight against corruption “is a national campaign that we must all support, especially at institutional levels”.
While congratulating the EFCC on the feat of having its Zonal Office in Ilorin, the governor praised the Commission’s efforts in tackling all shades of financial crimes.
Olusola Akintonde
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