The House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have admonished public servants in the country to avoid corruption tendencies capable of derailing the development strides of the country.
The chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ginger Onwusibe, and the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, made the call in their separate remarks during the opening session of a three-day workshop on “Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency”, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes in collaboration with the EFCC in Abuja.
The workshop, which was facilitated by Barclays Global Consult Nigeria Limited, was attended by over 100 state and elected local government officers from Jigawa State.
Hon. Onwusibe, who was represented at the event by the Acting Clerk to the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, Austen Tolu Adesoro, noted that the country has been battling public sector corruption, money laundering, illicit financial flows, and various types of fraud for some decades, despite the current legal and institutional measures in place.
He encouraged state governments to domesticate and implement statutory laws against financial crimes as well as sensitise staff, citizens and stakeholders at all levels to promote ethical reorientation and change societal tolerance for corrupt practices.
He added that the promotion of ethical whistleblowing and respect for public funds and property must be intensified, while personal responsibility and professionalism should be encouraged and rewarded to stimulate staff commitment to work.
In an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the session, Onwusibe, through the Clerk of the Committee, Adesoro, said: “The objective of this training is to equip state and local government officials with the do’s and don’ts that will help save us all from the hydra-headed monster of corruption in the country.
“The 10th House of Representatives under the Speaker, Rt. Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, through the House Committee on Financial Crimes, apart from the oversight function of overseeing agencies, we believe in going an extra mile in the fight against corruption, which one institution cannot effectively do. We believe that fighting corruption should be a joint task.
“It is on this note that we are also working in line with the Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, in applying more preventive measures. We don’t want to limit ourselves to exposing and prosecuting offenders alone, we want to apply preventive measures.
“It is part of this preventive measure that has geared the committee to this approach of organising seminars for government officials at the state level.
“We are not also stopping there, permit me to use this opportunity to mention that we are also looking forward to amending the EFCC Act in order to give more powers, to ensure that the EFCC Act is completely embedded in the Nigerian constitution in order to make it more effective.”
The Chairman of the EFCC, Olukoyede, who was represented at the workshop by the Acting Commandant of the EFCC Academy, Karu, Abuja, Chinwe Ndubueze, noted that fiscal responsibility is at the heart of accountable governance and efficient public service delivery.
He said: “You will all agree with me that 70 per cent of the problem that Nigeria faces in the public sector is down to poor fiscal transparency. In every budget cycle trillions of Naira are appropriated to cater to the nation’s pressing infrastructural, social and economic needs.
“Were these resources applied in accordance with laid down rules, Nigeria’s fortune would be different today. Instead, we have had the terrible fortune of rules being circumvented and funds diverted or out rightly stolen through various sharp practices in the procurement value chain, while the rest of us suffer the consequence of the indiscretion of a few corrupt public officers.
“We cannot continue to play the game of ostrich, pretending to be interested in accountable governance while perpetuating practices that undermine accountability.
“Let me remind you all that as public officers, you occupy a vantage position to determine the fortune of this nation. Nigeria with all its human and natural resources has no business being poor.
“Corruption is the albatross that has held this nation captive. The current generation of public servants have a duty to shake off the decadent past and help Nigeria achieve her dream as a great and prosperous nation. We can only achieve this if we shun corruption in all forms.”
In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hajiya Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, represented by the Director of Legal Services of the agency, Barr Kingsley Amaku, described the training as timely and necessary intervention, “particularly at a time when financial integrity and accountability must be at the forefront of governance at both federal and state and local government levels.
“The fight against corruption requires not just enforcement but also a well-informed public sector that understands the legal and institutional frameworks designed to promote transparency.
“Bridging the knowledge gap in the provisions of our laws is essential to curbing corrupt practices, and this workshop serves as a crucial step in equipping you our government officials with the tools needed to uphold accountability in the public service at all levels.”
For his part, Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Global Consult Nigeria Limited, who is the immediate-past Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Matthew Kolawole, said the programme was meant to educate government officials at all levels on how to manage finances and funds that are coming to their state.
“You understand that a lot of money is going to the state and local governments, but most local governments’ officials are just newly elected. They are not acquainted with the laws that guide the utilisation of their finances,” Kolawole said.
The chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Jigawa State, Hon. Abdulraman Lawal, and the Director of Local Governments in Jigawa State, Ismail Yusuf, in their separate remarks, said they expect to be better equipped with the necessary knowledge on how to apply and manage local and state government finances in line with extant laws and financial regulations after the training.
“Our expectation for this training is that we will go home better than the way we arrived because we are before the experts to lighten us and show us the nitty-gritty on how we can be more careful in way and manner we manage our finances in our individual local governments,’ Lawal said.
On his part, the Jigawa State Director of Local Governments, Ismail Yusuf, said: “Our expectation is that, we have newly elected local government chairmen and there is need for us to give them a capacity building on how to carry out their jobs so as to avoid any kind of financial mismanagement and be excellent leaders that will carry and manage the public funds in a proper manner.”
Other heads of anti-corruption agencies who were present at the opening session of the workshop, included the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Dr Usman Bello Abdullahi, who was represented by a member of the board of the agency, Juwariya Badamasi, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other related offences Commission, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, represented by Hassan Salihu.