The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the National Orientation Agency, NOA, have expressed their resolve to strengthen the existing collaboration in the fight against corruption.
This was the outcome of an interactive session held at the Commission’s Lagos zonal office on Wednesday, April 3, 2019.
While receiving officials of the NOA, the acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, described the NOA as a critical partner to the fight against corruption, saying “Your mandate is so important because of your duties to enlighten and educate the public on government policies and programmes.
“We cannot ignore your relevance in the fight against corruption”, Magu said.
Also speaking, the Commission’s Zonal Head, Lagos, Muhammed Rabo, said, “This meeting has been called for us to meet minds on how we can further build on the existing relationship in the fight against corruption.”
Rabo emphasized that the generality of Nigerians had not fully embraced the ongoing fight against corruption owing to the fact that they are not so informed about the activities as well as the challenges faced by the Commission.
According to him, “Not everybody is well informed and convinced about the fight against corruption.
“But with your support, we are assured that more people will be convinced and see the need to join hands with us to tackle the menace of corruption and economic and financial crimes.”
He, however, stated that Commission, through its Enlightenment and Reorientation Unit, had also been involved in vigorous sensitisation programmes across its various zones in line with its mandate.
“You will agree with me that both the EFCC and the NOA have a shared mandate with regard to sanitizing the country and restoring the virtue of integrity in the members of the society,” he added.
In his response, Waheed Ishola, Director, NOA, Lagos, expressed his gratitude to the Commission for choosing NOA as one of its collaborators.
Ishola, who led the delegation, also said the fight against corruption should not be left in the hand of the EFCC.
He further stated that the agency would deploy various strategies to support the EFCC, adding that “We are rightly positioned to join hands with the EFCC to stamp out corruption from the country.”