Combating corruption, money laundering would take more than enforcement of laws – Lamorde The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde has said that the recent rating of Nigeria by Transparency International (TI) was a confirmation that war against corruption was gradually yielding result in the country. Transparency International (TI), in a report it released last Wednesday placed Nigeria in the 136th position out of 174 countries surveyed in the 2014 anti-corruption perception index. By the world-wide survey, Nigeria improved eight spots to attain the 136th position from the 144th ranking it got in 2013. The Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) Dr Joe Abah also attributed the improvement to the blockage of several leakages, where money were being siphoned, through reforms and measures put in place by the Federal Government. Abah rolled out some achievements ranging from Banking Reform to the computerization of the pay roll system, which he disclosed that it had saved about N160b for the country. The duo was speaking at the Unveiling of the economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in commemoration of the UN International Anti-Corruption Day tagged; ‘Break the Corruption Chain’, in Abuja. Lamorde noted that to achieve success in the war against corruption, it would require critical input of all stakeholders, particularly the faith based organisations, in the anti-graft campaign. “The commission had come to conclusion that successfully combating economic and financial crimes, including corruption and money laundering, would take more than enforcement of laws,” he said. EFCC Boss maintained that ‘Nigeria is deeply religious country’, therefore, it was possible to fight corruption with religion, adding that this informed the decision of the EFCC to develop a preaching and teaching manuals and facilitator’s guides which contain scriptural references, illustrations and teaching aids all drawn from the two faiths; Christianity and Islam. In his remarks, the Chairman of Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), Mr Ledum Mitee said the debilitating effects of corruption could not be over emphasised. “It is not only undermines development, but it is an enabler for other crimes and anomalies thereby perpetuating a vicious cycle. It goes without saying that if we are to make significant progress on developmental issues, we must break the corruption chain,” he said. Mitee called for empowerment of the anti-corruption institutions with the necessary resources to fight the war. He further insisted on “effective implementation of the laws holistically and across board and all levels of our governance without fear or favour”, as steps to be taken to address corruption in the country. The chairman added corruption thrives in the absence of integrity and flourishes more, where people collude to beat systems, saying that “it is the integrity of the individual that can break the chain of corruption, when we say no.”
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:50:38 +0000
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