Imported User:
The United States has stated that it did not support previous leaderships of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) because it did not believe that they were truly ready to combat corruption.
A United States top diplomat for Africa, Mr. Johnnie Carson, who disclosed this during a recent forum in Washington DC, stated that the United States scaled back its technical assistance programmes to Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) because the previous leadership was not committed to reform.
He continued that the appointment of Ibrahim Lamorde to lead the anti-corruption agency gives confidence to the US government that the high-level corruption that has hobbled the delivery of government services would be seriously addressed.
Carson also said that the President Jonathan’s appointment of Nuhu Ribadu to oversee a commission to monitor and audit the government’s vast oil and gas revenues was also a very promising sign.
His words: “Before he was fired several years ago, Ribadu earned a well-deserved reputation as Nigeria’s most zealous prosecutor of high level corruption. His return, like that of Ngozi and other economic reformers, should be taken as an indication of the promise and potential of getting it right.
“We hope these high performers will encourage others, like the Petroleum Minister, to accelerate key reforms, including passing the long awaited Petroleum Industry Bill.
“The Nigerian government has also taken a positive step in trying to address its long standing problem of corruption. Through two strategic appointments, the government has signaled that is once again going to try to get a handle on high level corruption.”
