EFCC disowns liaison officer who named Ekweremadu ‘anti-corruption ambassador’

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has not named Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, its anti-corruption ambassador.

Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesman, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the media office of Ekweremadu had issued a statement, saying that the anti-graft agency had “decorated” the lawmaker as its anti-corruption ambassador.

But the EFCC has now denied, saying the confusion was caused by Suleiman Bakari, EFCC’s national assembly liaison officer, who “acted outside his brief”.

“The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to some reports in the print and online media, on April 20, 2016 claiming that the anti-graft agency has decorated the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, as anti-corruption ambassador,” Uwujaren said.

“According to a statement issued to the press by the special adviser to the deputy senate president, Uche Anichukwu, the purported decoration, was carried out by the EFCC National Assembly Liaison Officer, Suleiman Bakari, who was quoted to have said: ‘On behalf of my acting chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Mustafa Magu and the entire management and staff of the EFCC, decorate you as an Anti- Corruption Ambassador and formally present this frame, as a token of our appreciation to your person and office, and as a symbol of the institutional partnership between the EFCC and the National Assembly.’

“The EFCC totally dissociates itself from the purported action of Sulaiman Bakari as he acted entirely on his own. He clearly acted outside his brief as a liaison officer as the management of the commission at no time mandated him to decorate Ekweremadu or any officer of the National Assembly as Anti- Corruption Ambassador.

“The statutory mandate of the EFCC is the investigation and prosecution of all economic and financial crimes cases, which does not include the decoration of individuals as anti- corruption ambassadors.

“The Commission is not in the habit of awarding titles to individuals. And those enamoured of titles know the quarters to approach for such honours, not the EFCC.

“Members of the public and stakeholders in the fight against corruption are enjoined to disregard the so-called decoration.”