A public affairs analyst, Mohammed Basah, has expressed hope that Abdulrasheed Bawa who was recently appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) would bring on board solid performance credentials that would restore the image of the commission.
Basah in a statement, Wednesday lamented that Nigeria has over the years gained notoriety as a major hub of corruption, a perception that is aided in no small measure by the fact that despite humongous earnings from the sale of crude oil and human resources, the country has continued to lag in virtually every measurable human development index.
The analyst stated that “It is often estimated that Nigeria from independence to date, has lost over $500billion to stealing and diversion by corrupt government officials and their cronies on the private sector.
He explained that ” this sorry state is what prompted former President Olusegun Obasanjo to establish two specialist anti-corruption agencies, the EFCC and ICPC, being the first in Africa to so institutionalize the war against corruption. The EFCC would, following the exit of its pioneer chairman Nuhu Ribadu, be in decline until the coming to office of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 with a firm commitment and proven track record of fighting corruption”.
The analyst who said the former acting chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu’s tenure was characterized by a lot of turbulence, with the EFCC doing things against the laws of Nigeria many a time and even giving the institution a negative image in the international community.
He explained that “Magu had insisted on keeping Nigeria’s Financial Intelligence Unit as a department within the EFCC, even though this went against the contents of the Egmont Group charter, which provides that Financial Intelligence Units must be independent organizations, due to the sensitive nature of information sharing across various jurisdictions. This prompted the Egmont group to threaten to expel Nigeria. An expulsion would have led to financial transactions originating from Nigeria to be flagged as high risk, effectively shutting Nigeria out of the international commercial and monetary system, while information would be withheld from Nigeria to aid the fight against corruption.
He continued ” thankfully the intervention of several voices made the president give his assent to the NFIU act which created the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), an agency that gave evidence against Magu at the Justice Ayo Salami panel of investigation. This singular act buttressed the importance of having independent institutions in the anti-corruption space”
Basah confirmed that, pending his confirmation, Bawa has already been quietly working to give the EFCC a new face with fewer controversies and more purposeful and discreet investigations devoid of the Magu era media trials of allegedly corrupt individuals.
He noted that “with a track record of investigations leading to securing over 400 convictions across 3 zonal offices of the commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa is bringing onboard solid performance credentials that would restore the image of the EFCC both locally and internationally, giving Nigeria a good name internationally and local confidence across the citizenry.
“The fight against corruption in Nigeria, which had been derailed in recent times is set to receive a boost and direction, in a clear departure from the norm of recent years, Basah stated.