Corruption: EFCC Is Not Fit For Purpose; It’s Time To Scrap It!

 By Olu Fasan

When General Olusegun Obasanjo became president in 1999, he was under pressure from the international community to tackle corruption frontally. Obasanjo himself described corruption in Nigeria as cancerous, saying it required surgical operations. He established an anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in 2003.

But 20 years later, Nigeria remains a “fantastically corrupt country” as a former British prime minister memorably put it. The cancer of corruption has festered and spread malignantly, destroying every facet of Nigeria’s polity.

Chairman of Nigeria's Anti-Graft Body (EFCC), Farida Waziri, Sacked

... Ibrahim Lamorde Appointed Acting Chairman

The Chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, has been relieved of her appointment.

Mrs. Farida Waziri, Former EFCC Chair

A statement issued this morning and signed by Dr. Reuben Abati, Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to President Goodluck Jonathan, states that the President has approved the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde as the Acting Chairman/Chief Executive of the anti graft body. 

Ibrahim Lamorde, The New Chairman

The statement gave no reasons for the removal of Mrs. Waziri who was appointed EFCC Chairman by Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on May 18, 2008 and confirmed by the Senate on May 27, 2008.

Mr. Lamorde whose appointment takes immediate effect is an officer of the Nigeria Police, and was, until this appointment the Director of Operations of the EFCC. He was also Ag. Chairman of the EFCC before Mrs. Waziri assumed duty at the Commission.