The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked the House of Representatives to increase the agency’s N76.586 billion budget proposal for the 2024 financial year.
The Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, made the request when he appeared before the House Committee on Financial Crimes to defend the 2024 budget on Tuesday.
According to him, the budget envelope given to the Commission was inadequate to execute its mandate of fighting financial crimes.
He, however, said, EFCC’s total budget proposal for 2024 is N76.586 billion as against the budget office envelope of N43.109 billion.
Olukoyede told the Committee that the Commission has maintained the proposed N37.074 billion envelope for personnel costs but planned to spend N14.513 billion on overhead against an envelope of N4.794.
He said EFCC has an envelope of N1.241 billion for capital which will not serve any purpose, hence the Commission is proposing N25 billion as its capital expenditure.
“This increase is solely attributed to the increase in personnel cost from N36.834 billion to N37.074 billion in 2024. Under budgetary heads, we have the personnel, overhead and the capital. In our proposal for 2024, we have proposed N37.074 billion as against envelope of the same amount of N37.074bn.
“So, we still maintained the amount we have in the envelope, in personnel cost. Under overhead, the envelope was N4.794bn, but we are proposing to this committee to help us carry out our mandate, with the sum of N14.513 billion.
“Under our capital cost, we have an envelope of N1.241 billion, which will not do anything for us. Against that, we are proposing N25 billion as our capital cost. Of course, our operations keep expanding and we also envisaged that we are going to bring in more staff in the year under review.”
Speaking, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ginger Obinna, said financial crimes remained a significant threat to the nation’s economic stability and progress, stressing that the panel is duty bound to tackle the challenge through legislative interventions to EFCC.
“As we convene for this pivotal budget hearing, it is my honour to address the critical importance of our role in defending our financial landscape, in collaboration with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, (NFIU).
“Our task is formidable, as Financial Crime continues to evolve in sophistication and scale, posing a significant threat to the stability and growth of our economy.
“The challenges we face require not only vigilance, but a strategic allocation of resources to empower NFIU to effectively counteract illicit activities that undermine our economic well-being and our nation.
“The budget we are reviewing today is not merely a set of figures but, reflection of our dedication to creating an environment where our citizens can trust the financial institutions that drive our economic engine for growth and development,” he added.
