As part of its plan of engaging workers in both the public and private sectors to embrace the fight against economic and financial crimes and all forms of corruption, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 organized a one day interactive session for Committee Secretariat Staff of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P.
In his keynote address, Ibrahim Lamorde, chairman of the EFCC who was represented by Osita Nwajah, deputy director, Public Affairs, said the essence of the programme was to “take the anti-graft campaign to the workplace and encourage workers to have a buy-in, as the EFCC alone cannot fight and win the war against corruption in Nigeria.”
Lamorde commended the chairman of the SURE- P, General Martin Luther Agwai (retd) for accepting to partner with the EFCC in the fight against the social malaise. ”This partnership will go a long way to show that the Subsidy Reinvestment & Empowerment Programme, SURE-P is a key player in the fight against corruption with zero tolerance for corruption particularly in the manner in which it has been designed to reinvest the ‘savings’ accrued from the fuel subsidy reduction, on vulnerable population in Nigeria by initiating giant social safety net programmes,” he said.
In his remarks, General Agwai commended the EFCC for the initiative. He challenged the staff to key into the fight against graft as SURE-P was built on probity, transparency and accountability. “Be transparent, be honest, reduce bureaucracy and we shall be more effective and efficient” he said.
Hajia Aisha Larai Musa, head, Enlightenment and Reorientation Unit, in her paper, EFCC and its Preventive Strategies, led the audience through the activities of the EFCC in last eleven years and its effort in curbing economic and financial crimes. Felicia Bot-Timothy, Staff of Enlightenment and Reorientation Unit, in her paper, Corruption, Economic and Financial Crimes and Work Place Ethics – X Raying Sure-P urged the staff of Sure-P to bring the fight against graft to their work place by embracing healthy work ethics, transparency and accountability.
Auta Yakubu desk officer, Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit, SURE-P, said the interactive session was educative and refreshing. “It has been an enlightening programme, it will make people to be more careful,” he said. His views tallies with that of Dr. H. K. Suleman, head of administration of Sure-P, who said staff of the agency have become better educated on the works of EFCC.
