The House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has set a July 30 deadline for Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to appear before them to address concerns about budget allocations and the commission’s budget performance.
The committee, led by Rep. Obinna Onwusibe, has expressed dissatisfaction with the EFCC’s management after an oversight visit to the commission’s Abuja office was met with resistance. The committee members were reportedly barred from entering the premises and subsequently returned to the National Assembly.
Rep. Onwusibe criticized the EFCC leadership for what he described as a dismissive attitude towards the committee’s oversight function. He noted that the oversight visit had been pre-arranged with the EFCC, and the latest coordination was made just last week. However, upon arrival, the committee was informed that Chairman Olukoyede was called away unexpectedly to attend to urgent matters at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“In performing our constitutional functions, we had written to the EFCC for this oversight visit,
“The essence of the oversight is for the committee to know the budget performance of the EFCC as appropriated by this National Assembly, and to understand the challenges being faced by the commission.” Onwusibe stated.
He added that the committee had specifically requested the presence of the EFCC chairman and zonal commanders for a thorough discussion. However, they found that the leadership was not available during their visit.
Following this incident, the committee decided to postpone the oversight activities and has issued a formal summons for the EFCC chairman and his management team to appear before them.
“The functions and integrity of this 10th National Assembly cannot be taken for granted,
“We’ve written several times to the commission, requesting information and documents, and are yet to receive them.” Onwusibe emphasized.
The committee expects Olukoyede and his team to provide a detailed account of the EFCC’s budget performance and address any operational challenges at the upcoming meeting.
