The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ola Olukoyede, on Tuesday, directed staff members of the commission to immediately declare their assets in line with civil service regulations and procedures.
He gave the directive at the Corporate Headquarters of the Commission in Abuja while addressing senior staff of the EFCC, stressing that fighting corruption required those at the vanguard to be above board.
Grow your business with us
A statement by EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, quoted Olukoyede as assuring the commission’s staff that adherence to the rule of law would be his 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 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 it. 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 statement said.
He said the EFCC needed to rid the nation of corruption in order to boost investors’ confidence in Nigeria.
Olukoyede said, “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 warned “those compromising their works and position to desist from such conduct, as dire consequences await every unsavoury tendency.”