Anti-graft War: Senate Mulls Budget Increase For EFCC

The Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) deserved increased budgetary allocation in order to effectively carry out its duties.

The chairman of the legislative committee, Senator Udende Emmanuel, stated this on Monday when the Senate committee visited the anti-graft commission’s headquarters in Abuja for an oversight function.

The committee chairman said in honesty, the EFCC required more funding. “When the EFCC chairman is telling you that he needs a software that will tackle virtual and fraudulent cryptocurrency trading, valued at about N3.4billion, then, you will understand why they need more funding. What we will do is to increase their funding through budgetary allocation,” Senator Udende stated.

He also said the EFCC deserved a percentage of its recoveries to assist its operations just like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) get a certain percentage of its seizures too.

Earlier, the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, told the Senate committee that one of the agency’s greatest challenges was adequate funding as the EFCC would be needing about 300 per cent increment of its 2024 budget to carry out its duties effectively.

Olukoyede, who lamented the effects of corruption on the general activities in Nigeria, said EFCC would investigate government agencies, who corruptly divert budgetary allocations to other things or outrightly embezzle the funds.

The anti-graft agency boss also stated that EFCC is currently investigating the extractive industry and very soon, indicted persons will be charged to court.

While lamenting the issue of pricing things in Dollars in Nigeria, the EFCC chairman said despite all efforts to address it, some businesses were still selling and trading in Dollars and the EFCC will keep hunting them down.