The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has charged youths across the country to collectively fight corruption and all forms of economic and financial crimes in order to accelerate growth in the economy.
Olukoyede gave the charge on October 26, 2023 when undergraduates of Economics Department of University of Abuja, visited the Corporate Headquarters of the Commission, Jabi, Abuja on a study tour.
The Chairman, who spoke through Acting Director, Public Affairs, DCE Wilson Uwujaren, said that Nigeria as a country is blessed with all the resources needed for its development. He, however, said the only thing denying Nigerians the enjoyment of its numerous resources is corruption.
“We are already going through tremendous challenges as a nation; if we look at it basically, what is causing these challenges is corruption. So, the onus is on us as citizens to join hands with the EFCC to ensure that we fight this cancer called corruption; fight it to the barest minimum, because however you look at it, unless we defeat corruption, we cannot achieve what we are set to achieve as a nation”, he said.
The Chairman further charged the students to collaborate with the EFCC by championing the fight against corruption in order to foster and encourage development of the nation.
Head, Media and Publicity Unit, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Dele Oyewale called on the students to identify with everything capable of removing leakages in the economy, pointing out that corruption is the worst leakage in any economy. He enjoined the students to join the fight against corruption, stressing that no society or environment, whether micro or macro, grows when all the basic indices of development are not in place.
In his presentation on Fighting Corruption as a Catalyst for Economic growth, Oyewale explained that, “corruption causes distortion, dislocation and disequilibrium in the economy and the only way to reverse those negative indicators is to fight it to a standstill”.
On her part, Head, Enlightenment and Reorientation Unit, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Aisha Mohammed, called on the youths to be ambassadors of positive change and support the EFCC in its fight to cleanse the country of all forms of economic and financial crimes. She further called on the youths to be EFCC’s foot soldiers by preaching the ills of corruption to the larger society.
Your roles in the anti-corruption fight is paramount. Wherever you are, we need you to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all of us. Be ready to be change agents and good ambassadors of the EFCC”, she said.
Chief Superintendent of the EFCC, CSE Daniel Nwaka, spoke on “Cyber Hygiene”. He stressed the need for youths to be wary of how they used the internet. “Do not give unauthorized access to Apps on your phones, do not download applications you don’t need as some of them could be malwares, capable of stealing your whole information and selling them on the dark web”, he said.