VAM News Update

THE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ola Olukoyede, has directed staff members of the commission to immediately declare their assets in line with civil service regulations and procedures.

He gave the directive on Tuesday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja while addressing senior staff members of the EFCC, stressing that, fighting corruption required those at the vanguard to be above board.

The EFCC boss assured the commission’s staff members that adherence to the rule of law would be an article of faith and a defining principle of work.

“The EFCC is a creation of the law. We must do our job in line with the dictates of the law. This is a standard international practice and we would ensure that it is our established norm.

“All of us are going to declare our assets; from Level 17, downward. I did mine, so there’s no reason for anyone to be afraid to do the same. Even the commission’s secretary did, you all may also have done it in the past, but there’s a need for all of us to do it again. We will declare our assets, and we are going to investigate them.

“We must live above board by setting the pace with good examples. As anti-corruption fighters, our hands must be clean, so we must declare our assets,” the spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale quoted Olukoyede as saying in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday.

While urging the operatives to be professional, he further called on staff members of the commission to pay premium attention to the basis of fighting economic and financial crimes, pointing out that, such efforts should be geared towards growing the economy of the nation, creating rightful environment for enhanced investment and strengthening the productive base of the economy.

Olukoyede added, “We must do our job to add value to the nation. Investors must have confidence in the economy and we must help the country to be governed in an accountable and transparent manner. By doing this, it will offer us a new direction to redeem the image of the nation.

“Please, I beg you, let our hands be clean and put our house in order. Some may not like me, but I am going to do the right thing and treat everybody equally irrespective of religion, ethnicity and region.”

He assured the staff members of a better welfare package, enhanced training and equal opportunities to ensure higher productivity. He warned “those compromising their works and position to desist from such conduct, as dire consequences await every unsavoury tendency.”