EFCC Chairman Instructs Agents To Disclose Assets

Employees of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission are instructed to promptly disclose their assets in accordance with civil service rules and procedures by the commission's chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede.

At the commission's Abuja headquarters on Tuesday, he issued the order to senior EFCC employees, emphasizing that those leading the charge in the battle against corruption must be above the law.

The head of the EFCC gave the staff members of the commission assurances that upholding the law would be a core value and guiding principle of the organization.

"The EFCC is a creation of the law. We must do our job in line with the dictates of the law. This is a standard international practice and we would ensure that it is our established norm.

"All of us are going to declare our assets; from Level 17, downward. I did mine, so there's no reason for anyone to be afraid to do the same. Even the commission's secretary did, you all may also have done it in the past, but there's a need for all of us to do it again. We will declare our assets, and we are going to investigate them.

"We must live above board by setting the pace with good examples. As anti-corruption fighters, our hands must be clean, so we must declare our assets," the spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale quoted Olukoyede as saying in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday.

While advising the agents to act professionally, he also urged the commission's staff to pay close attention to the fundamentals of combating economic and financial crimes, emphasizing that such efforts should be directed toward expanding the country's economy, establishing the proper conditions for increased investment, and bolstering the productive base of the economy.

Olukoyede continued; "We must do our job to add value to the nation. Investors must have confidence in the economy and we must help the country to be governed in an accountable and transparent manner. By doing this, it will offer us a new direction to redeem the image of the nation.