* UN pledges continued support for anti-graft agency

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A YET-TO-BEVERIFIED number of staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are on their way out of the organisation following the recent change of guards there.

Top on the list of those leaving is Mr. Dapo Olorunyumi, erstwhile Chief of Staff to the former EFCC Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. Only last week, Mr. Olorunyumi was sent on suspension.

Vanguard gathered yesterday that several other personnel who fear that the current leadership in EFCC lacks the capacity to fight corruption the way Mr. Nuhu Ribadu and his team did have made up their mind to leave.

They alleged that the new leadership wants to dispense with the services of certain staff especially those seen as Ribadu boys and recall those sacked by him for corruption.

One source said yesterday that international donor agencies were watching with keen interest development there, especially the actions of the new regime with a view to deciding whether the commission is still deserving of their assistance.

But one of such agencies, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has promised to continue with its over $30 million technical assistance to the EFCC.

Making this pledge at the Commission’s Abuja headquarters last Friday, the Country Representative of UNODC, Mrs. Dagmar Thomas, pledged of her organisation’s commitment to the success of the Commission.

Putting paid to recent media speculation that the world body was considering withdrawing from implementation of the European Union aid package, Thomas told EFCC Chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri that the UNODC was confident in her ability to discharge her duties creditably. She reiterated the UNODC’s willingness to partner with EFCC.

“As UNODC’s representative in Nigeria, I wish to assure you that my doors are always open for you and your people. Let me also thank you on behalf of my team that are housed in your Commission for the cooperation we enjoyed with EFCC under Ribadu, which I believe will continue in your tenure as well,” she said.

Thomas told her host that the UNODC had been chosen as the implementation partner in the financial agreement between Nigeria and the European Commission on the funding project aimed at enhancing EFCC’s operational, logistics and IT capacity. She said some of the current priorities in the project included future legislation and security measures, but could include any other pressing projects for which UNODC could be of help.

Replying, EFCC’s Chairman thanked the UNODC boss for the visit, saying she had heard very positive things about Mrs. Thomas. “I am confident that with the calibre of people I have been meeting, the challenges before me would be surmounted,” she said.

Mrs Waziri called for a better and more robust relationship between the two organisations, adding that the problem of corruption was a big challenge that could not be left in the hands of a single institution.

Regretting the cynicism that has bedevilled the fight against corruption, Waziri emphasized the need to take the message of hope to ordinary Nigerians who, she said, suffer most the brunt of the menace.

“The masses are at the receiving end of corruption, they are so helpless; they are so poor that they cannot raise their voices. We intend to work with them, sensitise and encourage them to hold their leaders accountable,” she said.

The EFCC Chairman reiterated her desire to make the Commission a proactive organisation by putting in place an effective intelligence-gathering mechanism. She also praised the Nigerian judiciary for having so far identified with the fight against corruption, but stressed that a quicker way of dispensing justice ought to be pursued.

Speaking also at the meet, Secretary to the Commission, Mr Emmanuel Akomaye, said the two organisations would meet later to review in detail, all areas of mutual cooperation. He thanked Mrs. Thomas for her commitment to the fight against corruption in Nigeria.