EFCC Chairman, Farida Waziri
The European Union, one of the donor agencies providing support for the activities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Thursday, commended the anti-graft agency for justifying the funding and other support given to it by the EU and other donors.
EFCC’s Head, Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said on Thursday in a statement that the commendation was given by a representative of the EU, Mr. Kazimierz Romanski, at the formal hand-over ceremony of the European Union funded projects to the EFCC.
Romanski, according to the statement, disclosed that the numbers of prosecutions, convictions and recoveries achieved so far by the EFCC were proofs of its relevance and commitment to the anti-graft war. He announced that greater support would soon be given to the agency under the 10th European Development Fund.
The EU support, codenamed ‘Project Support to Law Enforcement Against Economic and Financial Crimes and the Nigerian Judiciary (NGASO8),’ was funded with a grant of almost 25m Euros and implemented by the United Nations office on Drugs and Crimes. In EFCC, the projects include information technology’s development, and forensic laboratory, among others.
Romanski said, “Looking back, I think that the project has had a positive impact on improving the internal operational capacity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit to better perform and achieve results and also in involving civil society, disseminating messages and building public confidence in the fight against corruption”.
“The EFCC has showed professionalism in addressing some challenges and has always been keen in moving things forward. Although, the project is closing now, the European Union remains committed to supporting the sector. We do plan to support the anti-corruption agencies under the 10th European Development Fund for period 2009 to 2013”, he promised.
The EFCC Chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri, said that the project had assisted her Commission and the country in combating economic and financial crimes and also enabled the judiciary to modernise and improve on service delivery.
According to Waziri, both the EU and UNODC, have played crucial roles in the automation of processes and capacity building, national anti-corruption strategy and the round-table on Non-Conviction Based Asset Forfeiture that resulted in the drafting of a bill, currently before the National Assembly.
“Their experience, expertise and wide reach were always handy for us, even in areas outside the scope of the project. We would continually count on their support and cooperation in the future”, she added.
Source:http://www.punchng.com
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