Non-compliance With Laws, Bane Of Corruption – EFCC

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has linked the menace of corruption and poverty in the country to non-compliance with laws.

Olukoyede stated this on Thursday in Abuja, when the executives of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), led by the chairman, Victor Chinemerem Muruako, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the EFCC.

The EFCC boss noted in his remarks that it was important for the country to move forward, regretting, however, that the major obstacle was the general aversion to compliance with rules and regulations.

He stated that “One of our major challenges is compliance with laws. If our institutions, our agencies and Nigerians are made to comply with our laws, even if at a rate of 70 to 80 per cent compliance with laws, Nigeria will not be where it is today because the resources are there.”

Speaking further, the EFCC chairman said, “I can tell you this by the work I do and what I see every day. I know this country is blessed.  We don’t have any business with poverty, only because people don’t take laws seriously. We don’t take enforcement seriously. They don’t take compliance seriously. That’s why we are where we are.”

Olukoyede expressed joy at the increased window of collaboration the signing of the MoU will bring about in the working relationship between EFCC and FRC, especially in the area of joint investigation team, which he observed could draw FRC to the forefront of the anti-corruption fight, noting that “We can set up a joint investigation team and both agencies will be at the forefront of the fight which is for me, very key.”

He further noted that visible collaboration between the EFCC and FRC will send the signal to the public that it’s no longer business as usual and called for the MoU to be put into effect.

According to him, “By signing this MOU, we will have access to your reports. If the two of us work together, we can sanitise this system to a reasonable extent. It’s not just for us to sign an MoU, it’s important for us to operationalise it.”

In his remarks, Muruako expressed delight and optimism about the MoU and praised Olukoyede and the EFCC for their superlative performance in the fight against corruption and economic and financial crimes.

“I commend you. I also commend your team for its hard work. I’m very proud of your agency. I feel fulfilled that this MoU is being signed today. And I want to assure you, on behalf of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, that this will be a great encouragement to our commission. It will help us know that we are really working with you one-on-one. It is not just the FRC that would be enriched; this hydra-headed element called corruption would be cut off,” he said.