The Acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu has appealed to Nigerians to help the commission in its bid to rid the country of corruption.
Magu who was speaking at the convocation ceremony of the Fountain University in Osogbo, the Osun state capital re-affirmed that the anti-graft war is not targeted at any person rather it is a holistic fight to rid the nation of the endemic corruption.
The EFCC boss who was represented by his Chief of Staff explained that the arrest and prosecution of any individual for economic and financial crimes are oblivious to their region, religion and ethnic identity.
“Indeed corruption could have killed Nigeria if the rate at which corruption was festering then had not been checked. Take, for instance, the money stolen by just 55 people between 2006-2013 is well over 1.3 trillion naira.
“One-third of these monies using world bank rates and coat could have comfortably been used to construct 635.15 km of roads, built 183 schools: educate 3974 children from primary to tertiary level at N25.24 million naira per child: built 20,062 units of 2 bedroom house across the country and do even more.
“The cost of these grand thefts, therefore, is that, these roads, schools and houses will never be built and these children will never have access to quality education because a few rapacious individuals had cornered for themselves what would have helped secure the lubes of future generations, depriving them of quality education and healthcare, among others, “he said.
He stressed that Nigerians need to join hands with the commission and see the fight as the responsibility of all considering the hazards and effect corruption has had on the nation’s growth.
Commending the current leadership of the judiciary for constituting special courts to try corruption cases , the EFCC boss says it is a revolutionary act that will help speed up cases that hitherto had been very slow.
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