Abuja- The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, entered into an agreement with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to strengthen the fight against corruption.
The new agreement with the theme: EFCC-Civil Society Partnership Against Corruption,” is expected to function in a system called the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Support Network (ACE-Network), formerly known as the Anti-Corruption Revolution (ANCOR).
The EFCC Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, said the commission decided to review ANCOR in order to check the abuses perpetrated by some of its members under the guise of fighting corruption.
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“Among the programmes initiated by the commission for a people-driven anti-corruption war, was the Anti-Corruption Revolution (ANCOR) campaign, which was launched in Dec. 2008.
“As good as the concept was, the programme was soon bedeviled by several challenges. These include some of the vices it had set out to curb.
“Administratively, ANCOR was also discovered not to have adequate data bank of partners and there was generally poor monitoring of their activities.
“It is in light of these observations that the commission decided to review the ANCOR programme.
“The MoU takes into account lessons the learnt from the experiences and challenges of the past.“
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Lamorde acknowledged that closer collaboration between the commission and all segments of the Nigerian society was critical to the successful execution of the anti-graft war in the country.
“EFCC is in tune with the international consensus that the failure of many state parties – that is governments – to actively engage civil society and the private sector in their anti-corruption campaigns have been one of the key reasons for the numerous failures of national initiatives to tackle corruption.
“Community and public power are the most effective catalysts for the initiation and sustenance of the much-needed ethical reforms in this country.“
Mr Olarenwaju Suraj, who signed the on behalf of the Civil Society Organisations, said the agreement called for the collective involvement of both the government and the people to restore the nation’s battered image.
“It is not about the government but also about the people. We are committed to ensure the ANCOR situation does not recur.
“We are going to critically engage the commission and we are committed to a more serious fight against corruption in Nigeria.“
In a good will message, a representative of the World Bank Office in Nigeria, Mr Roland Lomme, said the global bank looked forward to practical results from the anti-corruption initiative. (NAN)
