Mr. Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has said that anti-corruption fights should be premised on initiatives and modalities capable of stimulating economic growth and development in the overall interests of Nigerians.
He stated this in Lagos on Tuesday, while addressing officers of the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC.
According to him, “There is need to redirect our focus towards what we were set up to do in Nigeria, which is to drive economic development. We will tilt our focus towards that area. We will work to drive economic development, create wealth and employment”.
Continuing, he pointed out that “the era of winding down businesses by way of investigation is gone. We will look into the mix-fund rules that separate proceeds of crimes from legitimate money so as to allow businesses to grow.”
He also stated that the Commission, in line with its mandate, would make conscious efforts to redeem the image of the country in the global community.
“We will drive this to tell the whole world that we are ready to get out of this mess. We will do our own and pressurize other stakeholders to do theirs,” he said.
The EFCC Chair charged officers of the Commission to uphold the core values of the EFCC which include integrity, courage, professionalism and collaboration in the discharge of their duties in order to justify their engagement. He stressed that the anti-corruption drive must open up atmosphere of accountability and transparency in the country. “ You must be professional in all you do. Our image should reflect our core values. I have been part of this system. I was out for three years and I know the way things are”, he said.
He tasked officers of the Commission to be above board, insisting that asset declaration is compulsory for every staff. “This was the reason I recently directed that all staff should declare their assets. I have declared mine, so you must declare yours too”, he said.
Packaged by Emmanuel Okafor
