Anti-graft War: Northern CSOs Commends EFCC

The coalition of civil society organisations from the Northwest has commended the achievements of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the fight against corruption and other economic and financial crimes.

The CSOs gave the commendation on Thursday, May 25th, 2023, during an interactive session with the Commander of the Kano Zonal Command of the Commission, Farouq Dogondaji.

Speaking at the event, the chairman of the Kano Civil Society Forum, Ibrahim Waiya commended the courage and vibrancy of the Abdulrasheed Bawa-led EFCC for what he described as its holistic and inclusive approach to fighting corruption.

“I have worked with previous EFCC chairmen but Abdulrasheed stands out as the most friendly. Whenever we approach him with an issue, he always directs us to the relevant department that handles it”, he said.

Waiya also lauded the EFCC for curtailing the menace of vote trading during the just concluded general elections.

Waiya further called for more collaboration between the EFCC and civil society groups to enhance the anti-corruption campaign at the grassroots. “We need to strengthen our collaboration and partnership. We have a duty and responsibility to provide you with protection against those who would try to ridicule your integrity. We know many politicians are cooking up conspiracies against the EFCC because they are not comfortable with the way you operate. We will be there to provide you with the necessary support and protection from them.”

Earlier in his remarks, the Zonal Commander, Farouq Dogondaji, expressed his gratitude to the CSOs for the support the Commission has been receiving from them and advocated the strengthening of the synergy. He added that for the Commission to achieve its mandate, all stakeholders must be part of the movement chasing corruption out of our land.

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Dogondaji further disclosed that the aim of the engagement was to share ideas on how to move the anti-corruption fight forward.

“This engagement’s main objective is for us to open our minds and come up with ways to fight corruption which has kept the country down. It is because of corruption that we are underdeveloped with bad roads, lack of infrastructure, education and sound medical care. We have to come up with ways to tame corruption so that our children can enjoy this country better than we are doing,” he said.

In her remarks, the Head, Enlightenment and Reorientation Unit of the Commission Aisha Ibrahim Mohammed also emphasized the need for all hands to be on deck in order to eradicate corruption in Nigeria.

“The fight against corruption cannot be done by one person. Yes, EFCC is there as a law enforcement agency saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption, economic and financial crimes. But how can the EFCC achieve this mandate? It is only when everyone joins the fight and who is better positioned to take the fight to the grassroots than the Civil Society Groups.

Mohammed said that the EFCC doesn’t know it all, which is the reason for the engagement to share ideas and strategy to deepen the fight against corruption.