War Against Corruption: Buhari issues fresh orders to EFCC...

There appears to be no backing down by President Muhammadu Buhari on his resolve to make anti-corruption and accountability the fulcrum of his administration as he issued fresh orders to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to account for funds that were stolen but recovered by the Commission. In fact, the President also instructed the EFCC not to be distracted by negative comments from some quarters on its operations, especially as they affect some of those who have been named in the now infamous $2.1b arms scandal. This is coming at a time when the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP – which has had a few of its leaders arrested and detained in Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade – and the All Progressives Congress, APC, which is the ruling party, are trading words on the propriety or otherwise of the approach of the EFCC executing the anti-graft war. Meanwhile, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has declared that the war against corruption in Nigeria would be a very hard one to wage. Buhari’s fresh orders to EFCC Sunday Vanguard was reliably informed by Aso Rock Presidential Villa sources that the recent visits of the Chairman, EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, to the seat of power, where he was said to have had audience with Buhari, may be a pointer to the seeming micro-management of the anti-corruption drive. Although the source did not make full disclosures about what transpired at the private meeting between the President and Magu, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand that far from the allegation of tele- guiding the EFCC, “Mr. President wanted a very clear picture regarding accountability and the exact amount of funds already recovered from some of those who were said to be making refunds to the coffers of the Federal Government of Nigeria”. It was learnt that Buhari’s express orders to the EFCC boss was to the effect that the funds already recovered must be accounted for. Whereas this was not an indictment on the current leadership of the EFCC, Sunday Vanguard gathered that some of the issues that were already subjects of controversy even before Magu took over as the Commission’s boss needed to be sorted out. Specifically, the activities of the EFCC regarding recovery of looted funds under Ibrahim Lamorde, the immediate past EFCC boss, were brought into sharp focus. Buhari has vowed that all stolen funds would be recovered. Culled from Vanguard The present wave of arrests and interrogation is not unconnecte tod with this drive.