By Perpetua Onuegbu
The Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a CSO, Auwal Rafsanjani, says without EFCC and ICPC in the fight against corruption, impunity would have reigned supreme in Nigeria.
Rafsanjani told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that the fight against corruption by the two anti-graft agencies had helped in curtailing impunity in the country.
“I would say that without EFCC and ICPC, the country would have witnessed a very serious crisis, a crisis of outright looting, stealing, diversion, misappropriation and impunity in the entire financial system.
“So the emergence of EFCC and ICPC has helped to, at least, minimise the recklessness we see by some of the public office holders.
“I would say that their existence is necessary in Nigeria; it is helping to bring some level of sanity; it is helping, to some extent, to block some leakages because of the fear of arrest and investigation.
“So I must commend them for the work that they are doing because I believe that they are making a lot of sacrifices and even putting their lives at risk,” he said.
Rafsanjani, who is also the Head, Transparency International Nigeria, however, the enormous challenges being faced by the agencies in the course of carrying out their duties, this making their job difficult.
“Apart from putting their lives at risk, sometimes they experience political interference; they also experience financial or other budgetary limitations and sometimes public misunderstanding,” he stated.
The executive director said that many times, politicians try to interfere with the work of the anti-corruption agencies because they feel that since they appointed the officers, they have to answer to them, forgetting that such offices are based on public trust.
He, therefore, called on politicians to stop interfering with the activities of the agencies.
Rafsanjani also said that more budgetary allocations should be made for the agencies to further enhance their efficiency and effectiveness.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Francis Onyeukwu/’Wale Sadeeq
