As the nation’s major Antigraft Agency EFCC meets with the House of Representatives Committee oversighting it to defend it’s 2021 budget, facts emerged that the Commission must be better funded for it to achieve it’s statutory roles.
Chairman House Committee on Financial Crimes Rep. Ibrahim Dutse after listening to operational challenges faced by the agency, noted that with no extra budgetary allocation to fund it’s operations, an amendment process is on to empower antigraft agencies have access to a percentage of looted funds recovered by them.
He added that while the process is still on, NASS in the revised budget of the EFCC following the outbreak of Corona Virus gave it approval to expend ten percent of total proceeds of looted funds recovered by the agency.
The EFCC acting chairman Muhammad Umar gave a breakdown on how the N3.69 B was spent in 2020, highlighted it’s major challenges and asked for better funding for greater efficiency.
The EFCC boss says the effects of the outbreak of COVID-19 stalled some of its prorammes, including the planned recruitment of 420 staff to boost it’s manpower as approved in this year’s budget.
The lawmakers assured the Commission that their challenges as enumerated would be addressed considering the import of the agency cleansing the country’s battered image abroad as regards economic and financial crimes. ENDS. #
