EFCC Charges NASENI to Adopt Institutional Reforms In Fighting Corruption

Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has called on the management of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, to adopt effective processes and procedures in the fight against corruption.

He made the call on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Minna, Niger State while speaking at a Retreat for Technical Board Members and Managing Directors of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Institutes. Speaking on the topic: ” Building a system to fight Corruption”, Bawa said that, for NASENI to achieve its core mandate of ensuring Nigeria’s industrialization, sound modalities of fighting corruption must be put in place.

To achieve this, he called for a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) which, according to him, will clearly set out structures, processes and procedures of running the Agency. With such a system in place, NASENI would be able to run without interference or any form of manipulation.

“With rules of engagement clearly set out and binding on everyone, no matter how high or lowly placed, discretion which is the oxygen for arbitrariness and corrupt tendencies is easily detected and checkmated”, he said.

Bawa, who spoke through the Director, Public Affairs Directorate of the EFCC, CE Osita Nwajah, lamented that, corruption is the cause of all social misnomers such as: road accidents, diseases, hunger, communal strife, kidnappings, armed robberies and other evils, therefore, fighting corruption, he explained, ” is not just a necessity, but an existential necessity for NASENI as it is for the EFCC and other agencies and vehicles of governance”

The anti-corruption boss said that, since his appointment and assumption of duties, the EFCC, under his leadership has changed its strategy from fighting corrupt people to fighting corruption itself. “In other words, our activities are now geared towards uprooting the various factors that enable the commission of economic and financial crimes, which is far cheaper than fighting the corrupt. I do not hesitate to recommend this template to NASENI.

In his contribution, Chairman, Technical Board of NASENI, Engineer Kashim Abdul Ali commended Bawa for honoring the invitation and for giving them strategies on how to rid NASENI of sharp practices. Ali also requested the EFCC to train its officers on how to follow due process in running the affairs of NASENI devoid of economic and financial crimes.