Rep. Adams Jagaba, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, on Wednesday, in Abuja, cautioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) against politically motivated arrest.
Jagaba (PDP-Kaduna) gave the advice when the EFCC chairman, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde led officials of the commission to the 2014 budget defence before the committee.
“You should not allow yourself to be used for political vendetta”, he said.
He urged the chairman to ensure that staff of the commission were adequately motivated to avoid being compromised in the course of their duty.
“I want you to motivate your officers in terms of welfare to prevent them from being compromised”, he said.
Jagaba assured that the committee and its Senate counterpart would work together to ensure that the commission’s headquarters was completed.
Earlier, Lamorde had told the committee that the commission secured 117 convictions in various cases in 2013.
On the performance of 2013 budget, Lamorde said that out of the N10.32 billon approved for the commission, it utilised N10.21 billion, representing 99 per cent.
He said that the capital budget of N 3 billion was utilised at 96 per cent while overhead and personnel was 100 per cent utilised.
According to him, the commission has proposed N 21. 058 billion for the 2014 fiscal year while the Budget office proposed N10. 245 billion for the same period.
Lamorde said that the capital budget proposal of N11.237 billion sought to provide for the total outstanding figure for the head office project.
He explained that the head office project which costs N18.9 billion would be completed in January 2015.
The EFCC chairman said that the budget office proposal of N2 billion for overhead, represented an increase of about 42 per cent over the 2013 figure of N1.41.
He stressed that the increase would boost the commission’s operational activities.
“This will obviously boost the commission’s operational activities in the form of investigations and prosecutions and eventually result in more convictions during the year”, he said. (NAN)
hmmm we hope and pray that their word should truely be practiced because they are machinery in the hands of the ruling elites. Both the committee and thr commission are corrupt.