President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja admonished the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to avoid being used for partisan politics or used to settle personal disputes.
The President, who gave the warning at the Unveiling of EFCC’s Standard Operating Procedures, Policies, and Manuals, at the State House, urged the Commission to focus on serving the nation and entrenching good governance.
“I must advise the leadership and operatives of this Commission to resist the temptation of being used for partisan politics or be dragged into personal disputes.
“Your job is to serve the nation in its efforts to entrench good governance,’’ he said.
“I am glad to note that the war against corruption, which is one of the cardinal objectives of this administration, is being strengthened.
“This is being done through the institutionalisation of operational procedures particularly as they form the building blocks of transparency and accountability in administration and public expenditure,’’ he said.
He also appreciated the support of the Board, Management, and Staff of the commission.
The President called on other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), especially Law Enforcement Agencies, to also ensure the standardisation of their processes within the extant laws and regulations.
“Therefore, we must continue to strive and deal decisively with matters in accordance with the rule of law”, Buhari said.
He said the government would continue to accord all necessary support to MDAs in order to ensure the sustainability of the initiatives already commenced in actualising the vision of a corruption-free society.
“I invite you all to fight corruption in all its ramifications and join us to entrench good governance values and integrity within all our systems.
“As I have often said, “If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us as a nation,” he said.
“This is a confirmation of national efforts against graft.
“I understand from your remarks, Mr Chairman, that these are the first collection of policy documents ever developed in the eighteen years of the Commission’s existence.
The President assured of a rules-based system in government business and the provision of the enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
“You may recall Ladies and Gentlemen, that since we came into power in 2015, we have consistently demonstrated the necessary political will to fight corruption.
The chairman of EFCC earlier said the agency was undergoing various phases of reforms, including the production of the manual, to reposition it for the task of fighting financial crimes in the country.
The chairman thanked Buhari and the National Assembly for the confidence reposed on his ability and competence to take over the leadership of the organization.
He said that software had been developed for operations, and a mobile app, “The Evil Eye’’, deployed for ease of reporting economic and financial crimes.
He said the EFCC already had a five-year (2021-2025) strategic plan with clear and measurable targets, based on five objectives.
According to him, the objectives include improving public engagement to fight crimes, systems and processes for prevention, intelligence gathering, prosecution, and law enforcement.
“I will lead an agency that will be the pride of our country, Nigeria,’’ he said
