The
attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has
been drawn to some reports in the print and online media, on April 20,
2016 claiming that the anti-graft agency has decorated the Deputy Senate
President, Ike Ekweremadu, as “Anti-Corruption Ambassador”.
According
to a statement issued to the Press by the Special Adviser to the Deputy
Senate President, Uche Anichukwu, the purported decoration, was carried
out by the EFCC National Assembly Liaison Officer, one Suleiman Bakari
who was quoted to have said: “ On behalf of my acting chairman, Mr.
Ibrahim Mustafa Magu and the entire management and staff of the EFCC,
decorate you as an Anti- Corruption Ambassador and formally present this
frame, as a token of our appreciation to your person and office, and as
a symbol of the institutional partnership between the EFCC and the
National Assembly”.
The
EFCC totally dissociates itself from the purported action of Bakari as
he acted entirely on his own and clearly outside his liaison officer
brief as he was never instructed by the Acting Chairman nor mandated by
the management and staff of the Commission to decorate Ekweremadu or any
officer of the National Assembly as ‘Anti- Corruption Ambassador’.
The
Commission views this highly unprofessional and conduct of the officer
as yet another manifestation of ‘Corruption Fighting Back.’ This leg of
the despicable campaign, which is unfortunately being carried out by a
staff of the Commission, had been foreshadowed in recent weeks by other
questionable acts.
For
instance, all through last week, some courts issued a string of
anti-EFCC rulings looking like calculated attempts to derail the
anti-corruption war, even as there were indications of the capture of a
prominent section of the media by dark forces.
The
picture of organized corruption marshaling its evil forces to launch a
sustained fight-back becomes clearer, if cognizance is taken of the
bewildering insistence of the Senate to carry on with the ill-advised
amendment of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Code of Conduct Tribunal Act
as well as the inexplicable provisions proposed for amendment of the
Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Let
it be underscored that the statutory mandate of the EFCC is the
investigation and prosecution of all economic and financial crimes
cases, which does not include phoney decoration of any individual as
“Anti-corruption Ambassador”. That award and title are unknown to the
EFCC and could not have been invested as purported, on behalf of the
Acting Chairman, Management and staff of the EFCC.
Further,
the Commission is not in the habit of awarding titles to individuals.
Those who seek titles for reasons of waging a counter-onslaught against
the war on corruption in addition to massaging inflated sense of
influence know the quarters to approach for such dubious honours. Not
the EFCC Members of the public and stakeholders in the fight against
corruption are enjoined to disregard the so-called decoration, while
stern administrative action is being taken on the clearly misdirected
officer who acted entirely without authorization.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
20th April, 2016
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