The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that the EFCC received 14,000 petitions from members of the public in the last one year.

The EFCC boss disclosed this when the Special Envoy for West Africa, Dr. Charles Omini, paid him a courtesy visit at the corporate headquarters of the commission in Abuja on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.

Olukoyede stated that the commission’s relentless efforts in ridding the country of all forms of economic and financial crimes are geared towards ensuring that Nigerians have a taste of good governance.

He said: “What we are doing is about this country, there is nothing personal in it. We are passionate about giving Nigerians a taste of good governance for once in their lifetime.

“In the last one year, we have received over 14,000 petitions; credible petitions, 14,000 within the space of 12 months.

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“Nigerians have no business being poor, if we manage our resources and are accountable, if we do the right things, by now we should be at par with America. There is nowhere in Nigeria that you dig and you won’t see natural resources or mineral resources. The forest alone can make us in the class of advanced countries. There is no region in Nigeria that does not have tourist attractions.”

Olukoyede further reiterated that fighting corruption was winnable if all Nigerians come together and join hands with the EFCC to ensure good governance and a better country for all citizens.

The EFCC chairman added: “The war is winnable; there are some countries where their own cases were even worse than our own. Our associates in Singapore, Hongkong told us they used to be worse than Nigeria, but we have gotten to that point where everyone will say let us come back to the discussion table and do the right thing.

“Everybody is now realising that we have done ourselves so much evil. If all of us can come together, we will overwhelm them.”

He, therefore, enjoined the envoy to strengthen the anti-corruption fight by making Nigerians realise that corruption is robbing them of their rights to good life and good governance.

On his part, Omini stated that his team was at the EFCC to appreciate the efforts of the anti-graft agency in its efforts towards ridding Nigeria of corruption, economic, and financial crimes.

The Star