President Bola Tinubu has promised to ensure that the gains recorded in the nation’s fight against economic and financial crimes in the country are not reversed.
The president made the commitment while declaring open the 5th Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)-National Judicial Institute (NJI) Capacity Building Workshop for Justices and Judges in Abuja on Tuesday, October 3.
He commended the EFCC for making impressive gains in the fight against economic and financial crimes and called for more vigorous and robust efforts in tackling the monster of corruption.
According to Tinubu, there are profound gains already made in the fight against corruption and the EFCC played remarkable roles in achieving them.
“For instance, available records show that EFCC has continued to achieve significant milestones in securing convictions and asset recovery running into billions of naira. There have also been significant improvements in the policy and legal frameworks for combating corruption with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy Plan and new legislations against money laundering, illicit financial flow and terrorism financing”, he said.
The president, who spoke through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi SAN, noted the devastating effects of corruption against the growth of the nation and called for multi-sectoral and multifaceted approaches in tackling them, placing emphasis on synergy and inter-agency collaboration as potent weapons of attack against the monster.
“Corruption and related financial crimes have become a menace in our national life and have in consequence attracted poor perception index rating for Nigeria globally. It requires concerted collaborative efforts to effectively combat it”, he said. The President, while commending the efforts of “successive leadership of the EFCC and NJI” for sustaining the anti-graft war, charged judicial officers to be more passionate and courageous in carrying out their assignments to rid the nation of corrupt practices. “Without competent and courageous judges who are passionate about their country, progress in fighting corruption is impossible”, he said.
Tinubu applauded the theme of the workshop: “Consolidating on the Gains in the Fight against Economic and Financial Crimes”, stressing that his administration is determined and resolute in bringing corruption to its knees.
“My administration is determined to ensure that these gains are not reversed and that Nigeria achieves her dream of reducing corruption to the barest minimum. He assured that his agenda of fighting corruption is “not just a mantra but a call to duty by all agencies involved in combating the malaise”.
The president specifically called for proper inter-agency synergy and collaboration while promising the “provision of adequate resources for the achievement of this noble objective and will therefore not accept any excuse for failure”.
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