The Movement Against Corruption (MAC), a coalition of civil society groups, on Thursday called on Nigerians to give the necessary support to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its fight against corruption.
The Steering Committee Chairman of the movement, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, made the call in an interview in Lagos.
Okei-Odumakin said the anti-corruption war would be more effective if citizens gave the EFCC the needed cooperation in its assignment.
She urged Nigerians to always volunteer information to expose perpetrators of corruption, as it would enable the commission to act on such people.
“Nigerians should support the EFCC by volunteering information and exposing perpetrators, especially in our public institutions.
“Also, citizens can support the anti-graft war by educating themselves against corrupt practices through the various faith-based organisations.
“Family and peer groups can also impact positively on the moral regeneration of the society, thereby drastically reducing the menace of corruption,’’ she said.
Okei-Odumakin said the anti-corruption war should be citizen-driven to yield the desired results.
She urged the EFCC and other security agencies to see the need to constantly engage stakeholders and enlist the support of all Nigerians to strengthen the war.
“The advocacy against corruption should be citizen-driven, by so doing; perpetrators will begin to see it as a war not only between them and the EFCC.
“They will see that it is also between them and Nigerians who are often the real owners of the commonwealth that is being stolen,’’ she said.
Okei-Odumakin said MAC was birthed out of the need for civil societies to come together to fight corruption collectively.
He said the movement would continue to partner the EFCC on advocacy and citizens’ education on the dangers of corruption to development.
The movement chairman said she did not share the sentiments in some quarters that the anti-corruption war as being fought by the EFCC was selective or politically-motivated.
While noting that people had the right to their own views, she said majority of those being fingered for corruption actually had questions to answer.
Okei-Odumakin said the EFCC had acquitted itself remarkably in its assignment so far, but much needed to be done to win the anti-corruption war.
“While we may respect the right of such persons to their opinions, it is important to say that the fight has been holistic, even though we, as a country, haven’t been able to get to our desired end in eradicating corruption.
“It is also not enough to say that majority of these cases of corruption, especially those being prosecuted by the EFCC, are politically-motivated.
“It is public knowledge that several of these people genuinely have one corruption-related issue or the other associated with the EFCC,’’ Okei-Odumakin said. (NAN)
