Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives on Monday affirmed that the suspension of Nigeria from the EGMONT group is a major set back for ongoing anti-corruption war championed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The EGMONT Group which announced NFIU’s suspension on Wednesday, 5th July, 2017 over alleged non-autonomous from the EFCC, had threatened to expel Nigeria from the Group effective from January, 2018 if the legal framework granting autonomy is not signed into law.
In the bid to address critical issues which led to the suspension, Dogara assured that National Assembly is already working to ensure that the suspension placed on Nigeria is lifted within the shortest possible time.
The Speaker who stated this during an interactive session with Adama Coulibaly, Director General of Inter Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering (GIABA) in West Africa, a unit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), stated that Nigeria’s suspension was a rude shock because the APC government is committed to the fight against corruption.
He said the fight against corruption cannot be succeesful without support and cooperation from other countries because in most cases proceeds of corruption are taken out of the country and kept in other jurisdictions.
“No nation can survive as an island, it will take the collective cooperation by agencies from different countries to combat both terrorism and corruption. Unfortunately we are facing the two in Nigeria with the Boko Haram violence in the North East.
“It is impossible to fight terrorism and corruption without strong legal framework,” he added.
He explained that there are two bills on anti-terrorism and anti-money laudering and mutual assistance on reparation of corruption proceeds that are pending before the House which will soon be passed into law.
However, the Speaker explained that the House was yet to pass the Bill seeking to grant total autonomy to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit as forwarded from the Senate because there was the need to meet with key stakeholders and players to know their expectations so as to avoid expulsion of Nigeria from the group.
Speaking earlier, Coulibaly who was accompanied by Francis Usani, NFIU Director explained that he was in Nigeria on advocacy visit on the hosting of GIABA statutory meetings slated for November in Nigeria as well as assess Nigeria’s application to join the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Coulibaly also urged Nigerian leaders to work to ensure that the country meet the minimum requirements and standards needed in order to be admitted into the FATF which will make it second African country to join the group after South Africa.
He stated that the bills pending before the National Assembly should conform and comply to international standard.
In an exclusive chat with BusinessDay, Kayode Oladele, chairman, House Committee on Financial Crimes noted that retaining the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) within Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will boost the country’s image among comity of nations.
Oladele disclosed that with administrative and financial autonomy as enshrined in the legislative framework before the House, will prohibit EFCC from all forms of interference in the day to day running of NFIU.
He explained that the bill adopted by the House last Thursday before embarking on six weeks recess has addressed all the concerns raised by EGMOG, adding that another bill which seeks to amend relevant sections of the EFCC Act had been initiated by the House since 2016.
The NFIU bill which was passed by the Seventh Assembly was re-gazetted in tandem with the resolution adopted by the House in pursuant to Order 12, Rule 16 of the Standing Orders of the House, which provides that all the bills passed by the preceding Assembly and forwarded to President Goodluck Jonathan for assent but for which he withheld assent and failed to communicate before the end of the tenure of the Seventh Assembly.
Sequel to the unanimous resolution passed the House, the bill is to be considered at the Committee of the Whole on resumption, BusinessDay reliably gathered.
To this effect, Nigeria will no longer be able to benefit from financial intelligence shared by the other 153 member countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, among others.
While claryfing issues on the House report, Oladele who dismissed the insinuation, argued that pulling NFIU out of the Commission, will bring Nigeria at par with countries with low anti-corruption rating in the world over.
According to him, such countries with low anti-corruption framework include: Egypt, Romania, Jordan and Belgium, which was lately rated as having weak anti-corruption framework.
He observed that out of the 154 countries rated, almost 147 have their financial intelligence unit located in other bigger establishments. Like in the United States it is resident within the FCEC and housed in the Department of Treasury.
“In Canada it is housed in the Ministry of Finance, in the UK it was housed within the UK organized crimes agency, in Germany was formerly under the Police but now under the Customs. In the Swiss, it’s under the Police, so it’s really rear to have it as an independent agency.
“My position is very clear, I don’t want Nigeria to be categorized with such countries. The legislation is seeking to get financially and administratively autonomy in the bid to make it an hybrid type for effective enforcement,” he posited.
While acknowledging the human interference tendency as alleged, the Ogun lawmaker however argued that putting NFIU in any of the already established institutions such as Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Finance, Nigerian Customs Service does not insulate it from interference as being touted by the critics.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
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