Tag: EFCC grassroots accountability

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has assured local government council chairmen and traditional rulers across the country that anti corruption enforcement would penetrate the grassroots to bring development closer to the people. Speaking at the maiden Annual National Conference of Local Government Council Chairmen and Traditional Rulers Councils in Abuja, represented by Director of Public Affairs, Commander Wilson Uwujaren, Olukoyede said the Commission’s commitment to accountability does not stop at the federal level. He highlighted the conversion of recovered proceeds of crime into public investment, noting that the Federal Government had directed N50 billion each from recovered funds to NELFUND and CREDICORP, alongside the transformation of a forfeited university in Kaduna into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia. On national security, Olukoyede said economic crime and security threats could no longer be treated separately, disclosing that the Commission’s specialised enforcement portfolio had recorded 920 cases and 212 convictions across money laundering, terrorist financing and illegal mining. He recalled that between October 2023 and the period covered by the Commission’s recent stewardship account, the EFCC recorded recoveries exceeding N1.233 trillion, alongside significant sums in foreign currencies, with roughly two thirds of the naira recovered returned to affected institutions. Olukoyede stressed that recovery should not end with seizure, noting that approximately N661.32 billion and $492.37 million had been released to beneficiaries during the period under review, including individuals and government institutions. He said the Commission was strengthening its own internal standards, including new arrest and bail guidelines, urging that accountability become a living principle rather than a slogan across all tiers of government. Olukoyede linked Nigeria’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 to sustained inter agency reforms in which the EFCC played a central role, describing the anti corruption fight as an instrument for economic growth and investor confidence. President Tinubu, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, told the chairmen that his administration has pursued national development with a belief that Nigeria cannot develop from the centre alone, stressing that development must take root from the bottom up. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed