Follow Us on Google
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, stated on Thursday that the three governors already listed are not the only ones the Commission is keeping an eye on for possible money laundering.
He, however, declined to give a specific number of those the commission is keeping an eye on while fielding questions from State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, stating that he did not want to be misled.
Approximately two weeks ago, Bawa had hinted to the EFCC’s surveillance activities surrounding three governors, whom he claimed were being watched over actions that appeared to be money laundering, in the aftermath of the federal government’s proposal to redesign and replace the naira.
Asked if it’s two he was using the EagleEye to monitor governors wanting to use stashed funds to pay salaries, he said: “You are mixing two things. EagleEye is an app. It’s a novel idea of the EFCC that we launched for the ease of reporting crimes to us. Nigerians can easily download it on their phones, either Android or Apple or whatever. And then, of course, they can send in complaints to us through The EagleEye, you can even take pictures and send.
“Let me use this opportunity to remind Nigerians that EagleEye is very important for those that are reporting the hoarders of these currencies that we know are out there. So that is one. On the issue of the governors that we are monitoring, in fact, the numbers have even increased. We are monitoring everything.”
Bawa also lauded the proposal to redesign the naira, calling it a crucial step in the nation’s fight against financial crime and other types of corruption.
He asserted that the enormous amount of the nation’s currency that has escaped the control of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) makes it difficult to track down financial crimes, noting that the redesigning of the naira is a chance for the government to retake control over the flow of money in the nation.
Bawa, however, went on to appeal to politicians to go about their campaigns without using illegitimate funds in their campaign finances.
“For politicians,” he said, “the message is very clear. Of course, you know, they should sell themselves, they should talk about issues. We want to hear about how they are going to solve the problems, not what the problems are, I think it is very important and I think they are doing that. And then of course we encourage that they shouldn’t use illegitimate funds in their campaign finances and all of that.”
