The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the Commission is presently investigating 18 serving governors, revealing that another who just handed over was jailed for abusing the Pound Sterling in the United Kingdom.
Speaking in Lagos on Friday at a naira abuse sensitisation campaign, he said the EFCC has taken it upon itself to investigate governors even before they complete their tenure.
According to Olukoyede: “There was a case of a Nigerian governor who travelled the second day he handed over to the United Kingdom to celebrate his birthday.
“As he was in the hotel celebrating with his friends and spraying £50 bills, the hotel waiter called 911, thinking he was mad.
“And by the time Metropolitan Police got there, he was arrested.
“But two of his fellow governors who were there pleaded that he was not mad and he was handed over to the EFCC.
“He was prosecuted and jailed but was later pardoned.
“You could see that even the British do not allow people to spray or stamp their currency.”
Speaking on how to curb the abuse of naira, Olukoyede said the naira is not only a means of exchange, but “it’s also our sovereignty.”
Continuing, he said; “People claim that naira spray is part of our culture and custom.
“Assuming that without conceding that it’s true, I think culture and customs must add value to us and evolve the way our lifestyle evolved.
“There’s nothing cultural about spraying and stamping the naira.
“The EFCC is mandated to enforce all naira abuse.
“The Commission will be failing in its operation by succumbing to such blackmail.
“We must all lend our voices to restore the integrity of our naira because it’s our sovereignty.”
The EFCC helmsman said two signature programmes of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu have benefitted from the proceeds of crimes recovered.
The Nigeria Education Students Loan Fund Credit Corps Scheme, he said, were the two programmes.
It is also on record that N50 billion of the proceeds of crimes has been committed to the NELFUND so far.
Olukoyede also said funds recovered from Niger Delta Development Commission were deployed to build skills acquisition centre and NDDC’s headquarters in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, which was commissioned recently
He also explained that unlike in the past when some of the money recovered was relooted, the Commission, according to him, is poised to use money recovered judiciously.
He said: “We have also recovered a university which we later changed to the University of Applied Sciences, Kashia Kaduna, from a former director in the civil service who diverted about N12 billion to build a university.
“The university is one of the best private universities we have around.”
Olukoyede said that out of 194 foreigners who were arrested in Lagos on charges of illegal cryptocurrency, 168 of them have been convicted.
He added: “As of yesterday, 168 of the foreigners have been convicted.
“We are ready to clean our economic sector to make it attractive to foreign investors.
“Yahoo Yahoo and other associated crimes have done a lot of reputation damage to us.
“At a time, Nigerian passports can enter 12 developed countries without a visa.
“But today, the international passports of Cameron and Ghana are better than ours.”
Olukoyede, who said he filed over 5,000 corruption cases last year alone, also said it is very difficult to prosecute politically exposed persons and convict them, especially former governors, because they have the wherewithal to hire lawyers and delay prosecution
He said: “More than 65 percent of the cases we filed last year were on civil servants, politically exposed persons.
“There was a case of a former governor we spent 11 years on interlocutory injunction from the Federal High Court up to the Supreme Court before the apex court decided that the ex-governor had a case to answer.
“Do you know what it takes to prosecute ex-governors?
“We received calls from high and mighty.
“At times, we have to relocate from our homes.
“We’re constantly under pressure.”
On how to nip corruption in the bud, Olukoyede said: “I also established a fraud risk assessment unit to prevent money from being pilfered.
“Within one year of the unit, we have prevented N10 billion from being stolen.
“The EFCC also owns an anti-corruption radio, 97.3 FM, for public enlightenment and anti-corruption efforts to curb the activities of fraudsters.”
Corroborating the EFCC chairman, the Director General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the abuse of the naira is not only unlawful, but it’s also unethical.
Issa-Onilu said: “For civic responsibility and national cohesion, we must ensure that we treat our naira in a dignified manner.
“The National Values Charter also dwells on how to curb the abuse of naira.
“We have our television commercials running on some stations to sensitise Nigerians about this.”
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