A three-week investigation into Nigeria’s extractive industry has revealed staggering levels of corruption that are “mind-boggling,” according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), with officials warning that the discoveries represent only the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you for reading this post; don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukayode disclosed the preliminary findings during the ongoing National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance, organised by the Senate and House of Representatives Public Accounts Committees in Abuja.
“In the last three weeks, we started a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly the oil and gas sector. What we have discovered is mind-boggling,” Olukayode revealed. “And we have only just opened the books. So much more corruption is to be unravelled.”
The anti-corruption chief drew a direct connection between resource mismanagement and Nigeria’s security challenges, stating that banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism can be traced back to “corrupt practices and diversion of funds that were meant to improve people’s lives.”
Olukayode used the platform to renew his appeal for the passage of the Unexplained Wealth Bill, which has been pending since the 9th Assembly and was previously rejected by lawmakers.
“Help me pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill. I’ve been begging for the past one year,” he pleaded, citing cases of public officials living beyond their legitimate means without facing accountability.
The EFCC boss illustrated the enforcement challenges with a hypothetical scenario: “Someone has worked in a ministry for 20 years. We calculate their entire salary and allowances. Then we find five properties, two in Maitama, three in Asokoro. Yet we’re told to go and prove a predicate offence before we can act. That is absurd.”
The three-day conference, themed “Fiscal Governance in Nigeria: Charting a New Course for Transparency and Sustainable Development,” also heard concerns about systemic issues in project implementation and budget management.
Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, revealed that contracts worth billions of naira are being awarded without adequate funding, creating opportunities for corruption and budget variations.
“There are projects worth N10 billion or N5 billion, but what I see is that only N300 million is allocated,” Adedokun explained. “Already, it tells me that I’ll be asked for appropriation again, or to incur variation. That is wasteful and unacceptable.”
The BPP chief disclosed that his bureau recently discovered contracts that were awarded and executed without any financial backing, describing the practice as “contrary to law” and potentially compromising the 2024 budget cycle.
Both officials stressed the urgent need for preventive measures rather than reactive responses to corruption, with Olukayode warning that “no amount of capacity will be able to recover half of the resources stolen from Nigeria” due to the unwillingness of host countries to repatriate stolen assets.
“The best option is to prevent corruption,” Olukayode stated, warning that “failure to do so would kill the country.”
The conference brought together fiscal oversight bodies, including the EFCC, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), with calls for coordinated monitoring from the beginning of budget cycles rather than after funds have been disbursed.
Olukayode urged Nigerians to “put aside creed, politics, and ethnic sentiments to block revenue leakage and save the economy,” stressing that the current administration presents a crucial opportunity to address systemic corruption.
Follow the AkweyaTV channel on WhatsApp: http://bit.ly/3I7mQVx
Or scan the QR code:
