Senate Wants EFCC To Keep Part Of Recovered Loots For Own Running Cost

A member of the Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes, Dayo Adeyeye has advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to use a portion of recovered funds to augment its running cost.

Adeyeye, who also sued for an upgrade of the salaries of officers of the commission, said the anti-graft agency was fighting corruption with all seriousness and Nigerians are pleased with its effort.

He made the suggestion during the defence of the Commission’s 2020 budget of N30.921billion before the committee by Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.

The senate ad-hoc committee chairman on Media and Public Affairs also noted that the work the commission does exposes its staff to huge temptations.

“You are recovering money, and yet complaining of lack of money. I suggest you come up with proposal where some share of the money you recover will be channeled to you,” Adeyeye stated.

Deputy Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wamako decried the N201.13miilion the Commission earmarked for hiring of legal services as low and suggested an increment on the item.

Speaking earlier, Magu disclosed that the agency has so far earned a record of 882 convictions between January and October this year.

Though the year has not ended, the conviction figure in the meantime, represents over 200 per cent improvement on the 312 convictions recorded last year.

The 2020 budget figure represents a 49.26 per cent increase over the N20.715billion approved for the commission in the current year.

The agency’s 2020 capital expenditure budget is pegged at N2.321 billion, down from the current year’s N3.008billion.

Magu noted that the capital expenditure budget “is a far cry from the commission’s need assessment and its strategic plan for 2020 and beyond.”

On capital expenditures, he disclosed that the commission intended to commence the development of the permanent site of its training academy at Kwandare, near Lafia in an effort to further enhance its capacity.

The commission’s other areas in need of substantial deployment of funds include: the take-off of the proposed EFCC Radio which already has an operating licence; a complete rehabilitation of the commission’s Lagos Zonal Office at  Awolowo Road, Ikoyi; construction of permanent offices in Uyo, Benin, Makurdi and Ilorin zones, where the commission is currently occupying rented properties.

As it is in the current year, next year’s overhead cost is pegged at N3.6billion. Given that only N1.5billion has been released out of the sum in the current year’s budget, Magu drew the attention of the senate committee members on the need to improve the commission’s overhead cost funding in view of EFCC’s head office building maintenance, local travels and tours of its officers, insurance premium (group life, fire & peril), legal services, motor vehicle fuel cost, publicity and advertisements.

The EFCC boss revealed that out of N20.715billion approved for the commission in 2019, only a total of N11.098billion has been released, representing 53.57 per cent of total appropriation.

He further revealed  that while zero naira has been released for the commission out of the N3.008billion approved for its 2019 capital budget, N9.657billion has been released out of the N14.106billion, approved for its personnel cost and N1.95billion out of the N3.6billion approved for overhead, totaling N11.098billion, so far.

Speaking further on the notable achievements of the commission in the current fiscal year, the EFCC boss disclosed that between January and September 2019, the commission made monetary recoveries on behalf of both the federal government and  third parties in the following sums : N64,721,161,510.01 (Sixty Four Billion, Seven Hundred and Twenty One Million, One Hundred and Sixty One Thousand, Five Hundred and Ten Naira, One Kobo), $14,030,512.32 (Fourteen Million, Thirty Thousand, Five Hundred and Twelve Dollars, Thirty Two Cents), £4,644,493.00 (Four Million, Six Hundred and Forty Four Thousand, Four Hundred and Ninety Three Pounds), €53,325.00 (Fifty Three Thousand, Three Hundred and Twenty Five Euros).