The Executive Chairman of The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, on Monday, July 8, 2024, reiterated the Commission’s determination to intensify the fight against economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption without let or hindrance.
He stated this in Abuja while addressing representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS who were at the EFCC’s headquarters, Abuja on a solidarity visit. According to him, fighting corruption is a collective responsibility of every stakeholder in the anti-corruption corridor, promising that the EFCC would not relent even as he charged Nigerian students to join the Commission in the fight.
“It is a collective responsibility to fight corruption in Nigeria, EFCC will not relent, I promise you that whatever it is going to cost us to fight this fight we will fight it. As Nigerian Students, you have a future and it is our responsibility to protect you to ensure that you successfully run through your educational system and pass out and get a good job”, he said.
Olukoyede insisted that leaders at all levels of government should be accountable to the people, pointing out that every opportunity to serve Nigerians should be considered a privilege with readiness to offer maximum benefits to the people.
“There is nothing personal about it, what we are saying is we must be able to hold people accountable, if you have spent eight years, four years, even if it is one year, by the time you come out, the position you are holding is a position of trust on behalf of all Nigerians- so what we are simply saying is that when you finish, come, we want you to explain how you spent our common wealth while you are in the office”, he said.
He urged the youth to join hands with the EFCC and be foot soldiers of the Commission, as well as extend the message of the EFCC and support the good cause and direction of the EFCC to the thirty-six states of the federation. He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating the Students Loans Scheme adding that it will help the students in securing a better future. He assured the students that the EFCC would work in concert with the handlers of the Scheme to ensure that its purpose is achieved.
Olukoyede also reacted to a shadowy group threatening to invade the Commission’s offices across the country in the guise of drawing their concerns to some operations of the EFCC. “I know they are being sponsored by the people we are investigating”, he said. He assured that there shall be no sacred cows in the anti-corruption fight. “Some of you have been asking questions about one or two people that we have been investigating. Don’t worry everybody will have his day in court, I promise you that”, he said. He dismissed insinuations being made about recent operations of the EFCC in Akure and Lagos, explaining that out of the 127 suspects arrested in Akure, 113 were indicted and 80 already charged to court. In the Lagos operations, he disclosed that over 100 suspects arrested have been indicted for involvement in internet fraud. He charged the students to be reform-minded and desist from anti-social tendencies.
One of the Student leaders, NANS’s Senate President, Senator Akinteye Babatunde stated that NANS came out to show support for the EFCC in its crusade against any form of corruption.
“ We stand in full support of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) and its relentless efforts in the anti-corruption war. This is not borne out of our aggrandizement but out of the desire to have a firm state and uphold the core values of integrity and honesty”, he said.
He condemned internet fraud stressing that it has brought shame to the country and called on every Nigerian to join the EFCC in fighting it. “Emphatically, we condemn all forms of internet fraud and corruption. It is appalling that these vices have brought nothing but shame to our country and have adversely affected our standing in the global community. The consequences are dire and not limited to economic instability, loss of foreign investments and a general sense of distrust among our citizens and the international community”, he said.
Continuing, Babatunde called on “ all Nigerians, young and old to rise to the occasion and join us in the fight. … corruption is not just the problem of the EFC, it is a national issue that demands a national response”.
