Senate Backs Greater Oversight, Support For Anti-graft Commission

The Senate has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its outstanding show successful warring economical and fiscal crimes, peculiarly the advancement recorded successful 2024.

This followed the adoption of a question sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Udende (Benue North East), who hailed the EFCC’s professionalism, dedication and patriotism contempt galore operational challenges.

Presenting the question yesterday, Senator Udende noted that the EFCC received 15,724 petitions successful 2024, opened 12,928 lawsuit files, filed 5,008 cases successful court, and secured a grounds 4,111 convictions — the highest successful immoderate azygous twelvemonth since the commission’s constitution successful 2003.

He added that the committee recovered important sums of wealth successful section and overseas currencies, alongside assorted forfeited assets, contributing positively to Nigeria’s economical model and planetary image.

“Despite constricted resources, unit constraints, and the expanding complexity of fiscal crimes, the EFCC has remained committed to its statutory mandate,” Udende said. “Its enactment inspires nationalist assurance successful the nation’s anti-corruption efforts and strengthens Nigeria’s estimation globally.”

The question drew enactment from different lawmakers, including Senator Peter Onyekachi Nwebonyi (Ebonyi North), who seconded it and praised the commission’s translation nether the existent administration.

“This is the archetypal clip the EFCC is surviving up to the expectations of Nigerians without relying connected media trials,” Nwebonyi said. “They person recovered implicit ₦500 cardinal successful 2024 alone. This is commendable.”

He besides applauded President Bola Tinubu for appointing “the close people” to pb cardinal anti-corruption institutions, calling the EFCC’s advancement “a revolution.”

Senator Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central) raised concerns implicit the EFCC’s retention of a statutory percent of recovered funds, questioning whether due legislative support had been sought.

“The EFCC is entitled to a percent of recoveries nether the law, but has this enclosure ever received immoderate petition oregon connection connected this? We indispensable amended oversight successful this regard,” helium said.

In response, Senate President Godswill Akpabio clarified that the instrumentality requires the President of Nigeria to question Senate support for immoderate specified retention — not the EFCC.

He instructed applicable committees to travel up connected whether specified requests had been made.