I have been following the story of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), with unalloyed interest since former President Olusegun Obasanjo established it in 2003.
Only recently, I had cause to, once again, give the Commission thumbs up when it excited Nigerians with the details of convictions it successfully secured in the past four years. It is heart-warming that it recorded a total of 126 convictions in 2014 alone, a development that dwarfed its achievement in 2013 when it recorded 117 convictions.
In all of these, what is incontestable is the determination of the current leadership of EFCC to tether the rampaging bull of corruption in our society.
But like a sour grape in the mouth, I was, to put it mildly, agitated when I read reports about the drastic reduction in its 2015 budget. Of course, the same fate is said to have befallen other Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs. But it is particularly disheartening that anti-graft agencies like the EFCC, ICPC are also affected.
Against this backdrop, the question begging for a satisfactory answer is: how will EFCC and other anti-graft agencies carry out their statutory responsibilities without any hiccup when they are not adequately funded?
It will be recalled that during the recent budget presentation by the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, before the National Assembly, he pointed out that the budget proposal of N9.6billion as against the N9.4billion approved by the Budget Office leaves a gap of N110million, which could affect the operations of the Commission.
The EFCC is one of the agencies that have to make do with whatever funds the Federal Government allots to them to carry out their operations. So, shouldn’t this call for concern?
It is a fact that the EFCC, among others functions, involves in assets recovery and the proceeds from forfeited assets are paid into the Consolidated Account. But what government actually does with the money leaves much to be desired.
Therefore, in view of the funding challenges that anti-graft agencies face, the Federal Government should ensure that certain percentages of recovered assets are given back to them so as to enable them carry out their operations.
No doubt, a fully funded agency will fight corruption to a pulp, remove Nigeria from the world’s corruption index and ensure her growth in the comity of nations.
Ngozi Alexander,
Nasarawa state