President Buhari Accuses the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Political Meddling

On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari warned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against being used to settle personal disputes or political politics.

This was revealed by Buhari during the introduction of the EFCC's Standard Operating Procedures, Policies, and Manuals at the State House in Abuja.

He urged the anti-graft agency's leadership, including all of the commission's operatives, to focus on serving the nation while enforcing good governance, and he also advised the agency's leadership, including all of the commission's operatives, to resist the temptation of being influenced by political actors for personal gain.

"I must warn this commission's leadership and operatives to avoid being utilized for partisan politics or dragged into personal disputes."

The president stated, "Your mission is to help the nation in its attempts to establish good governance.'

Buhari praised the EFCC's leadership for winning 2,220 convictions in a year and reclaiming over N152 billion and $385 million.

"I am pleased to see that the administration's fight against corruption, which is one of its main goals, is being bolstered.

"This is being accomplished through the institutionalization of operational procedures, which are the foundations of transparency and accountability in administration and public expenditure," he explained.

The president praised Abdulrasheed Bawa, the EFCC chairman, for his efforts to further institutionalize the agency by adopting 26 Standard Operating Procedures and 25 Policies and Manuals for the commission's Departments, Units, and Staff.

He also thanked the commission's Board, Management, and Staff for their assistance, while urging other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, particularly Law Enforcement Agencies, to ensure that their processes are standardised within the existing rules and regulations.

"I don't think I need to emphasize the significance of today's event, but let me remind you that the stakes are great, but the national expectations are even higher."

"As a result, we must continue to strive and deal decisively with matters in accordance with the rule of law," Buhari said, adding that the government would continue to provide all necessary support to MDAs to ensure the sustainability of the initiatives already underway in realizing the vision of a corrupt-free society.

"Let me conclude by emphasizing that if we are to make significant progress as a nation, the battle against economic and financial crimes in Nigeria is a communal obligation of all Nigerians," he stated.

"If we do not destroy corruption, corruption will kill us as a nation," Buhari said at the end of his speech.

The commission's chairman had previously stated that the agency was undertaking several reforms, including the preparation of the handbook, in order to reposition it for the purpose of combating financial crimes in the country.

He thanked the president and the National Assembly for their faith in his abilities and competence to take over the organization's leadership.

Bawa stated that departments such as intelligence collecting, training, and academic institutions had been reorganized and upgraded in order to achieve the anti-graft institutions' original aims.

He went on to say that software had been built for operations, as well as a mobile app called "The Evil Eye" that had been deployed to make reporting economic and financial crimes easier.

He pointed out that the EFCC already has a five-year strategic plan in place, with defined and measurable targets based on five objectives, for the years 2021-2025.

The goals, he says, are to improve public engagement in the battle against crime, as well as systems and processes for prevention, intelligence collection, prosecution, and law enforcement.