The Senate has confirmed the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with a call on him to make a difference. Lamorde, who had been in charge of the affairs of the commission in acting capacity since last November following the removal of Mrs. Farida Waziri, was confirmed after answering probing questions by the lawmakers.
Senate President David Mark, who announced the confirmation, noted that Lamorde answered questions bordering on the EFCC and corruption in the country and charged him to make a difference in the fight against corruption.
Earlier, Lamorde had admitted that efforts towards fighting corruption had better been directed towards preventing the menace in lieu of the huge amounts expended on trailing suspected corrupt individuals.
"The amount of money spent to pursue people suspected to have been involved in corrupt practices is so huge that it is important we try to prevent corruption. The best way of preventing it is to educate the Nigerian people and let them know the consequences if they refuse to be corrupt. The EFCC has an arm that has the responsibility of educating people about corruption," Lamorde said.
While calling on Nigerians to support the commission, Lamorde said there was a cordial relationship among all the anti-corruption agencies in the country.
On the allegations that the EFCC had sold some assets it seized from people found guilty of corruption, Lamorde said, "there was no single asset seized that was sold by the EFCC. The commission has nothing to do with who bought what. The banks went to court, got judgment and went ahead to sell the assets".
Meanwhile, Lamorde has informed the Senate that some staff and operatives of the EFCC are corrupt. "It is correct to some extent to say that there is corruption within the EFCC. We have about three of our staff currently in detention for corruption charges.
"We are also currently trying two others in court for similar acts. In fact, I have directed that all of us in the commission be vetted to see whether our lifestyles are commensurate with our incomes.
"There is no how we can go out and perform our duties when people have the impression that our officials themselves are corrupt," he said.
With the confirmation of his appointment, Lamorde has now become the third chairman of the commission having succeeded Nuhu Ribadu and Farida Waziri since the establishment of the commission in 2004.
DailyTrust