The
Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd.), has
described the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, as the
pivot on which the fight against corruption in Nigeria rests.
He
said that the leadership of the Service had also realised that having a
mutual relationship with the Commission was a necessity.
According
to him, “We have realised that the pivot or nucleus of fighting
corruption in this country is this organization. Also, we have realised
that we, on our own, cannot function effectively, if we do not get a
common platform with a lot of organizations. On resumption of the( new)
leadership of the Nigeria Customs Service, after taking stock of what we
have been doing and what we need to do, we discovered that creating
synergies and relationships with agencies such as yours is a necessity
and not an option. It is a must because we want to succeed; and to
achieve this, we need a common platform”.
Ali
who was speaking during a courtesy call on the acting Chairman of EFCC,
Ibrahim Magu, in his office in Abuja on Thursday, December 10, 2015,
said the visit was primarily to pay respect to the Commission and
commend it for all that it had been doing to rid the country of
corruption.
He
further explained that the visit was aimed at underscoring the synergy
that had been in existence between the two bodies, while also seeking a
way to strengthening the relationship.
Ali,
who described the business of law enforcement in Nigeria was a
thankless job, however, commended the EFCC boss. ‘‘Nobody looks at you
and says thank you for what you are doing. This is because at any given
time that you have to compel somebody to do something, especially in a
country like Nigeria where 99 percent of us are law breakers, you have a
great task in your hand. Therefore, I do not envy your job.
‘‘I
was a policeman for 27 years of my service in the Military; so, I know
what it is to investigate and really arrive at a conclusion where you
can indict somebody and send him or her before our judges of today and
prove that the person has committed the alleged offence. So it is a
great task.’’
Ali,
who was accompanied by top management staff of the Service, also
pledged his support for the Commission, adding that it was important to
have a common platform, where both bodies could be interacting on a
regular basis.
In his remark, Magu, who
expressed gratitude to the team for the visit, stated that the existing
relationship between EFCC and the Nigeria Customs Service had helped the
Nigerian system in a lot of ways, in the fight against corruption.
He,
however, called for a review of the mode of operation of the
partnership, adding that ‘‘I know the importance of us working
together. But I want us to look at the mode of operations and see if
there are fallout that need to be re-examined.’’
Secretary
to the Commission, Adegboyega Aremo, who gave the vote of thanks,
expressed the readiness of the Commission to build on the existing
relationship with the Customs Service.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
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