‘To tell our stories better’ — Olukoyede inaugurates EFCC radio station

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has inaugurated a radio station to disseminate information about the activities of the anti-graft agency.

The event held on Thursday at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.

Speaking at the inauguration, Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the commission, said the agency is now in “a better position to tell our stories factually, ungarnished and unspun”.

“For us in the EFCC, owning a radio station is not a status symbol, but an important organ of mobilisation against graft where communication and public engagement have the same impact and depth as our operational activities,” he said.

“Communication offers us stronger weapons for breaking half-truths, lies, insinuations and other distortions of the works we do.

“Indeed, with our own radio station, we are in a better position to tell our stories, factually, ungarnished and unspun. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the commissioning of this ultra-modern radio station today opens a new phase of fully integrated, mass-based and all-inclusive fight against corrupt practices by the EFCC. 

“The station offers the commission a platform for discussions, marketplace of ideas and sounding board of knowing the pulse of the nation concerning our work. It will also provide real-time feedback from the public about the work of the commission. 

“To this end, I want to use this opportunity to invite all stakeholders to make the EFCC Radio 97.3FM your station of choice for authentic news and features about anti-corruption and good governance.

“Let us see this new feather in the cap of the EFCC as a window of opportunity for participation and whistle-blowing.

“Let us also see it as a platform of linking up with our day-to-day activities for information, enlightenment and, of course, entertainment.”

Also speaking at the event, Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, commended the EFCC for its efforts in combatting corruption, and charged employees of the new radio station to operate in line with global best practices. 

“The EFCC should be deliberate and strategic about shaping the narratives around the war against corruption,” the minister said. 

“The Ministry of Information and National Orientation, in collaboration with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), will ensure that other relevant public sector agencies tow similar paths and contribute to the task of informing, enlightening and sensitising the public.”