Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has charged civil society organisations (CSOs) in South East Nigeria on proper collaboration with the Commission, especially, in spreading anti-corruption messages at the grassroots.
The EFCC in a statement
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indicated that the Chairman gave the charge on Tuesday at the Enugu Zonal Command of the Commission in a brief interactive session with CSOs, immediately after the commissioning of the new structure of the Command.
The statement indicated that the Chairman, speaking through the Secretary to the Commission, Muhammad Hammajoda, emphasized that “the EFCC cannot achieve its mandate of ridding the country of economic and financial crimes alone and we need you the CSOs who are our major stakeholders to put in your energy, time and other resources to support us in this fight against corruption”.
Describing corruption as a “cancer”, the Chairman said every effort must be made to tackle it. “Please, we have to do this work together. The menace is just like cancer and we should fight it with all our strength. You are our eyes and ears in the public, you are our whistle-blowers. Help us spread the anti-corruption message to the grassroots so that we can effectively fight corruption and win together”, he said.
Responding, Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Enugu chapter, Chief C.N.N Nwagbara, commended Olukoyede for recognising the roles of the CSOs in the fight against corruption and pledged total support of the Association to the Commission in achieving its mandate.
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“We will be looking out for crimes, especially the ones that are within the jurisdiction of EFCC and probably make a report. I want to commend the Chairman and the Secretary to the Commission for calling for this meeting and I want to encourage you that there is a need for a repeat of this from time to time”, he said.
Another contributor, Mazi Ikechukwu Bismark Oji, drew the attention of the Chairman to difficulties being faced in getting SCUML certificates. Olukoyede explained that if the information required by SCUML is rightly placed in the digital application procedures, no difficulty or delay would be suffered by any applicant.
“Please, come to the office if you have any challenges in applying for it. That’s why we have SCUML offices across the Commands. You will be properly guided”, he said.
Enugu Zonal Commander, ACE I Aliyu Nuhu Naibi, further explained that if procedures for filling the form are properly followed, there will be no difficulty of any form. “Here in our Command, we have over four hundred SCUML certificates uncollected. We produce certificates every month. The issue is, if you are filling the form, make sure that you follow the procedures”, he said.