By Fatima Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the Civil Society Groups for Good Governance have affirmed confidence in the leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by its Executive Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa.
The President of the Groups, Comrade Dominic Ogakwu gave the recommendation on Wednesday when the group paid a visit to the Commission in Abuja.
Ogakwu, while responding to recent calls for Bawa’s removal said that Bawa has done tremendously well, especially with its record of the highest number of convictions since inception, and that the attacks against the Commission are coming from corrupt elements out to demean its good works.
“There is a civil society group in Lagos saying that they will not stop until the Chairman steps down and it behooves us as stakeholders in the Nigerian project, to look into those issues by doing a background check on what necessitated the action, despite the tremendous achievements of this administration.
“We discovered that the campaigns were antics of politicians looking for a cover-up for their wrongdoings”, he said.
Ogakwu further commended Bawa on efforts in the area of staff welfare while appealing to the Commission to give accelerated treatment to some delayed petitions, especially in areas of procurement fraud.
Responding, the Secretary to the Commission, Dr. George Ekpungu commended the works of the groups, stating that EFCC is ready to collaborate with any group in the fight against corruption.
“We recognize that the civil societies are the front burners in the fight against corruption and they are the wheels through which a society is mirrored. I can tell you that there has never been a better fight against corruption than this administration,” Ekpungu said.
Ekpungu charged the group to continue to stay true and collaborate with the Commission as the anti-graft war cannot be won in isolation.
