The Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Crimes, Mr. Kayode Oladele, has described financial and economic crimes as being antithetical to the development of Nigeria and robs the country of maximizing its human and natural resources potentials. He said these crimes are a means through which a country can economically become a pariah state, because they provide disincentives for foreign investment and local productivity. He added that the House of Representatives was determined to partner with the Executive to ensure significant reductions in incidents of financial crimes in Nigeria.
Oladele who as speaking during a pre-budget and interactive meeting with the Acting Chairman and Management of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), reassured the anti-graft agency and other law enforcement agencies of the Committee's support in their efforts to unmask all the persons involved in reprehensible schemes, recover the stolen loot, prosecute them and get the courts to mete out the statutory punishments due to them. He described as extremely saddening, the sheer magnitude of outright stealing allegedly perpetrated by those entrusted with securing lives and property of Nigerians.
Noting the rapidly evolving, fast-paced global information age and electronic platforms, Oladele said the Committee is conscious of the growing needs of anti-corruption agencies and pledged that the House of Representatives shall give the required support to EFCC to ensure it is well-equipped to undertake top-notch investigations and prosecutions. He also said that for effectiveness and efficiency in the anti-corruption war, his Committee shall, if need be, strengthen the legal and normative framework underpinning the fight against corruption. This entails a review of the EFCC Act and engagement with the judiciary towards the establishment of special courts to try cases of financial crimes in order to expedite administration of justice and reduce the risk of uncertainties on the economy.
According to him, the House Committee on Financial and Economic Crimes is determined to, under the esteemed leadership of the House, contribute its quota to the Federal Government's Change Agenda through the provision of a clean social, economic and political milieu capable of ensuring that the dividends of democracy gets to the millions of Nigerians that brought the government to power through their votes. He further reassure that the vision to ensure a corruption-free Nigeria and enhance integrity in all facets of national life were part of the major objectives of the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House of Representatives.