Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday said the ongoing probe at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a proof that the anti-corruption war of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is still strong and not waning.
The minister, at a press conference in Abuja, also said the administration has recorded over 1,400 convictions, including high profile ones, and recovered funds in excess of N800 billion.
He argued that the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption fight is still on course despite allegations of monumental corruption in a number of government agencies, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), and even the anti-corruption agency, EFCC.
Recall that Ibrahim Magu, who has since been suspended by President Buhari as acting chairman of the EFCC, is facing a presidential panel headed by Ayo Salami, a retired president of the Appeal Court, over allegations of corruption levelled against him by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
Similarly, the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC is probing alleged financial malfeasance in the commission, a probe that has opened a can of worms.
The minister, therefore, described the call for the resignation of President Buhari by the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as infantile.
“The investigation of the nation’s anti-corruption czar has shown that this administration is not ready to sweep any allegation of corruption under the carpet; that there is no sacred cow in this fight. If the nation’s anti-corruption czar can be investigated, then the fight against corruption cannot be deemed to be fake, neither can it be said to be waning,” Mohammed said.
“Many, especially naysayers, have misinterpreted these developments as a sign that the administration’s fight against corruption is waning. I wish to state that the allegations of corruption in NDDC, for example, are not new. What is new is the speed and seriousness with which this administration has tackled, and is still tackling, the allegations. Had such attention been paid to the running of the NDDC by previous administrations, the Commission would probably have avoided its present predicament,” he said.
The minister reiterated that the Buhari administration’s fight against corruption is as strong as ever, saying there are records to back up the claim.
He pointed out that the fight against corruption is not about loot recovery or convictions alone, but that government is also putting in place enduring institutional reforms that will deter acts of corruption.
“Here we are talking about the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Whistleblower Policy, the expansion of the coverage of the Integrated Payroll Personnel and Information System as well as the Government Integrated Management Information System and the Open Government Partnership and Transparency Portal on Financial Transactions, among others,” he said.
