The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to combating economic and financial crimes, as well as other forms of corruption.
Speaking in Abuja to representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) during a solidarity visit, Olukoyede emphasized the collective responsibility of fighting corruption and urged Nigerian students to actively join the effort.
“It is a collective responsibility to fight corruption in Nigeria, EFCC will not relent,” Olukoyede stated.
“I promise you that whatever it is going to cost us to fight this fight, we will fight it. As Nigerian students, you have a future, and it is our responsibility to protect you to ensure that you successfully run through your educational system, pass out, and get a good job.”
Olukoyede stressed the importance of accountability among leaders, noting that serving in government should be seen as a privilege that requires offering maximum benefits to the people.
He said, “There is nothing personal about it. What we are saying is we must be able to hold people accountable. If you have spent eight years, four years, even if it is one year, by the time you come out, the position you are holding is a position of trust on behalf of all Nigerians. So, what we are simply saying is that when you finish, come, we want you to explain how you spent our commonwealth while you were in office.”
The EFCC Chairman called on the youth to support the Commission’s efforts by becoming active participants in the fight against corruption.
He praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for initiating the Student Loans Scheme, which aims to secure a better future for students. Olukoyede assured that the EFCC would collaborate with the scheme’s handlers to ensure its success.
Reacting to threats from a group intending to disrupt the Commission’s operations, Olukoyede said, “I know they are being sponsored by the people we are investigating.”
He reassured that the EFCC’s anti-corruption fight would spare no one.
“Some of you have been asking questions about one or two people that we have been investigating. Don’t worry, everybody will have his day in court, I promise you that.”
Addressing recent EFCC operations, Olukoyede disclosed that in Akure, out of 127 suspects arrested, 113 were indicted, and 80 have already been charged to court. In Lagos, over 100 suspects have been indicted for internet fraud. He encouraged students to reform and avoid anti-social behaviors.
NANS Senate President, Senator Akinteye Babantunde, expressed the association’s support for the EFCC’s anti-corruption efforts.
“We stand in full support of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its relentless efforts in the anti-corruption war. This is not borne out of our personal aggrandizement but out of the desire to have a state that is firm and upholds the core values of integrity and honesty,” he said.