PAC, EFCC to partner on anti-corruption war, capacity building
In a deliberate effort to deepen the war against corruption in Nigeria, the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have agreed to jointly embark on an anti-corruption war and capacity building.
The conclusion arrived today, Friday, 25th October, 2024 when the PAC Chairman, Representative Bamidele Salam led members of the committee on a working visit to the Executive Chairman commission, Mr. Ola Olukayode.
Rep. Salam explained that the war against graft cannot be won if all hands are not on the deck and expressed the need for the Commission and PAC to work together in this regard.
While noting the giant strides made by the Commission, Rep. Salam also emphasised that the major focus of the war should be on prevention rather than chasing corrupt individuals after they have made away with money from the public purse.
Equally, Rep. Salam called on the EFCC to critically look into the issue of 60,000 abandoned projects emphasising that such has gulped the nation of N17 trillion.
“The most unfortunate thing is that most of the projects were funded through external borrowings which has put the Nigerian foreign debt at 30.6Billion Dollars”, Rep. Salam added.
He assured the EFCC of the readiness of his committee and other relevant committees of the National Assembly to enact or amend existing laws in a manner that will make the anti-corruption war more effective.
In his response, the EFCC chairman described the anti-corruption war as a collective responsibility of all Nigerians and enjoined all to join in the fight.
Mr. Olukayode acknowledged the important role of the committee in particular and the National Assembly in general, for the milestones it has achieved so far in that direction.
He announced that the EFCC has made impressive progress in the last one year which led to the recovery of over N250 billion and 70million USD in cash.
The Chairman also said their is need for the establishment of a special desk through which the findings of the committee can be further processed.
Highlight of the discussion was the presentation of copies of the Public Accounts Committee Magazine called PAC NEWS to Mr. Olukoyede.
BS-E4 MEDIA & PAC NEWS
