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Nigeria’s system allows fraud to flourish – EFCC boss
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has said “Nigerians are good people”, but the problem is that the country operates “a system that allows fraud to flourish.”
This is as Olukoyede stressed the need for public officeholders to uphold transparency and accountability in the conduct of affairs in the country.
Olukoyede, who spoke when a delegation of the NDDC management, led by its Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, paid him a courtesy visit at the EFCC’s headquarters in Abuja, said that he was impressed by the “Rewind to Rebirth” initiative of the Commission.
This was contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday by the NDDC Corporate Affairs Director, Seledi Thompson-Wakama, sent to newsmen.
The statement quoted the EFCC chairman, saying, “The five minutes of interaction with the MD left me with a different perception of NDDC. I want to congratulate and also thank you for your readiness and commitment to bring change. Maybe, we will begin to see an NDDC that is a symbol of pride, accountability, transparency and able to deliver on its mandate.
“That is what the NDDC should stand for and I want to thank you for bringing that to the table. From his presentation, you can see that he is somebody who is ready to bring a change, and that is the exact thing that we stand for in EFCC.
“It is possible for us to build a system of accountability, transparency and integrity in Nigeria.”
Olukoyede used the occasion to urge all public officeholders to uphold probity, transparency and accountability in the management of the finances they hold in trust for the public knowing that a day of reckoning would come.
He said: “Always have it at the back of your mind that while you are on this side today, you might be on the other side tomorrow. Let it be the guiding principle for those in positions of trust in everything they do.
“That has always been my own guiding principle because you will not be there forever. You can protect certain things today, but if you leave, you will discover that the person closest to you, maybe someone who benefitted from you, would be the one to expose you.”
He also said, “Fundamentally, Nigerians are good people. The only problem that we have is the system that we operate; a system that allows fraud to flourish. But if you take the same Nigerian who is corrupt in our system to an environment with strict regulatory compliance and structures, you will discover that he will behave.”
The EFCC boss assured that the Commission would continue to do its job with determination and courage, noting: “We are not going to compromise. We have been called names and maligned but we are resolute. We are moving forward because somebody has to do this job and we will do it and deliver.
“I told Nigerians upon my assumption of office that we are going to use the instrumentality of the anti-corruption fight to build the economy and ensure good governance.”
Olukoyede assured that the EFCC would continue to assist the NDDC to achieve its mandate.
“We have been working with you to make recoveries, we will continue to do more.
“The collaboration is something we need to take to the next level, and with what you have put on the table I think we are ready to work with you to strengthen your systems and processes and to take the NDDC to the next level,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the NDDC Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ofbuku, explained that the visit to EFCC headquarters was in appreciation of the financial recoveries the Commission made on behalf of the NDDC, which he said had helped in developing the Niger Delta region.
He said: “We want, as a management, to thank the EFCC for supporting the NDDC to make the recoveries that have helped the region and the Commission. Mr Chairman, this is to let you know that the NDDC is investing the recoveries in projects.
“At a point, we will invite the EFCC to join us in commissioning some of those projects. It will be a sign that the recoveries made by the EFCC are used to support the development of the Niger Delta.”
Ogbuku said further: “Apart from thanking you, we also came to let you know what the NDDC has been doing so far. Many people had a very dark impression of the NDDC but we thought that we should look forward and not backward.
“So, we came up with the policy of rewind to rebirth, because we just have to go back a little to see where we started and what we needed to do in future. We went back to our books and interacted with previous management to know where things went wrong. One of the areas that we have to rebirth the NDDC was in the area of transparency.”
He sued for enhanced collaboration between NDDC and EFCC, observing: “We believe that further collaboration with the EFCC in the area of technical support will further strengthen us as a Commission and guide us in our operations. I also want to use this opportunity to plead with Mr Chairman that before our corporate governance performances and SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) are passed, you should delegate some of your officers to look at the documents and probably make your input in areas where you think you can further contribute in strengthening us as an organisation.”
He also pleaded for further technical support in the area of training finance staff of the NDDC in financial management.
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Nigerian Man Nabbed For Stabbing Fellow National To Death In France
A 27-year-old Nigerian man, identified only as Popori, has been arrested in Grenoble, France, for allegedly stabbing a fellow citizen, Monday, to death.
It was gathered that the incident occurred on the evening of Friday, November 22, when a fight broke out between two men during an altercation in a grocery store in Grenoble, Isère, France.
DayFR reports that, according to Grenoble Prosecutor Eric Vaillant, who confirmed information from Dauphiné Libéré, the incident occurred around 8:30pm.
The two men were inside an exotic grocery store when an argument broke out, quickly escalating into a violent altercation.
One of the individuals suddenly stabbed the other in the chest, for reasons still unclear.
Emergency services arrived on the scene but were unable to revive the victim.
On Saturday, the Grenoble public prosecutor announced that a 27-year-old Nigerian man had been taken into police custody at 12:30pm as part of an investigation initiated by the local judicial police service.
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Longest serving monarch dies at 111
Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa, the longest serving traditional ruler in Bauchi State, is dead.
Inuwa, the village Head of Beli (Sarkin Beli) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi, passed away at the Federal Medical Center Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of the state.
The monarch who was 111-year-old spent 91 years on the throne.
Chief Imam of Beli, Liman Musa Abubakar, confirmed the death of monarch which he described as a great loss to the entire people of Northern Nigeria.
During one of the interviews with Daily Trust in his lifetime, the late monarch had said, “Their grandfather was appointed as village head of Beli. He spent 12 years on the throne. He died and our father was appointed the village head. He spent 17 years. After that, I was appointed to the throne when I was 19 years old. This means that by my calculation, I was born around 19 12 or 1913. I was appointed to the throne around 1933 by the Emir of Katagum, AbdulQadir.”
The monarch lived and worked with four different first class Emirs of Katagum.
“We lived with the Emir of Katagum Abdulqadir who appointed me for 12 years before he left the throne and died six months later. Emir Umaru Faruqu was appointed. We spent 35 years with him.
When he died, his son, Muhammadu Kabiru was appointed. We spent 38 years with Emir Kabiru before he died, Again, after Muhammadu Kabiru, the present Emir of Katagum, Umaru Faruq II, was appointed. We lived with him for Six years.
Late Inuwa had said, “I am almost 91 years old on the throne. Alhamdulillahi, we live in peace with the people. And I gave birth to 11 people. Some of them died, but there are seven of them alive – four men and three women.
Many people interviewed said he was a peaceful ruler who [had] listening ears and worked for the peace of the land.”
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Katsina gov presents N682bn 2025 budget to State Assembly
Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State on Monday presented the State’s 2025 Budget Proposal to the state House of Assembly.
This is the second full year budget the governor is presenting to the House, which is in the sum of N682,244,449,513.87, covering Recurrent Revenue and Expenditure.
The Budget’s Recurrent Expenditure stands at the sum of N157,967,755,024.36 representing 23.15% while, Capital Expenditure stands at N524,274,694,489.51 representing 76.85%.
The Governor in his speech, announced that, the total of this budget when compared with that of the 2024, has an increase of N200,535,619,501.61, representing 40% increase.
The Governor, at the beginning of his speech, assured the House that his administration has achieved many of its goals and is on course to meet and exceed its targets.
He insisted that his administration has successfully reversed the tide of insecurity which severely threatened the peaceful co-existence of people in the State.
“Many of our local governments have been restored to normalcy while pushing the bandits to the fringes of the forests and, Insha-Allah, to the end of their existence.
“We have expended a lot of resources in fighting insecurity, and we shall continue to do all we can to protect lives and livelihoods in our dear state. I thank the Honourable Members for your support and dedication to ultimate victory,” he said.
The Governor while ranking MDAs by allocations, revealed that the Economic Sector got N302,246,140,569.76 representing 44.3%, followed by the Education Sector with 95,995,873,044.70 representing 14%.
In the same vein, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development got 81,840,275,739.70 representing 12% while the Ministry of Rural and Social Development got 58,728,146,293.72 representing 9%.
Other sectors such as the Ministry of Water Resources, 53,832,219,322.46 representing 8%, Ministry of Environment, 49,835,521,799.25 representing 7%, Ministry of Health, 43,881,752,172.75 representing 6%, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs 18,938,508,746.95 representing 3%, Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport 9,684,806,758.56 representing 10%.
Other sectors he said are in the sum of 230,759,902,908.71 representing 31% of the total proposed budget
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