CORRUPTION: EFCC Calls For Collective Efforts
2 min read
by Our Correspondent
The Nigerian number one economic crime fighting agency, Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has urged the public to synergize with anti-corruption agencies to achieve success in the fight against corruption.
The EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, represented by the Head, Public Affairs Port Harcourt Zonal Office, Mr. Oyewole Dele, made the appeal during the regional conference organized by the Social Action Group, a non-governmental organisation in Port Harcourt.
Bawa who described the theme of the conference tagged, “Beyond Forensic Audit, Repositioning the NDDC for Inclusive and Effective Service Delivery”, as apt, said Nigerians should begin to pay attention to what is going on in their environment to enable them identify their problems and give solutions to those problems.
In his words: “We should identify with the needs of the Niger Deltans, meet with the key stakeholders and be able to agree on what that will move the Niger Delta forward, and give proper accountability”.
He charged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to get to the grassroots and identify with the communities to get reliable information.
He reiterated the readiness of the agency to carry out its duties once it gets genuine information from the public.
Also speaking, the National Organizing Secretary, Host Communities of Nigerian Producing Oil and Gas areas, Dr Osasu Ekpen, explained that NDDC abandoned about 12,000 projects worth about N15 trillion in the Niger Delta region.
Ekpen called on NDDC to collaborate with host communities and stakeholders during the process of budgeting and execution of projects.
Expatiating on the aim of the conference, Programme Director of Social Action, Mrs. Vivian Bellonwu, said the aim of the conference was to present an annual report of assessment of the services and actions of the NDDC.
Bellonwu said that the report was a product of monitoring other civic engagement, engaging the NDDC and its social contracts.
Her words: “We are also convening a citizens accountability forum where the state actors meet with the Non state actors to discuss issues that has to do with the Commission and its keeping mandate.
“We cannot over emphasis that NDDC is high obsessed in secretive and this is the fundamental challenge the public is facing with the NDDC.
“We want the obesity of the NDDC to be brought down to enable the Commission fulfill its mandate”.
