“We
are winning the war against corruption, because the age of impunity is over,
and never again would anyone be treated as sacred cow,” he said.
Magu
made the declaration at the 20th Anniversary Public Lecture and Award Ceremony of
the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria, FICAN, which held at Top
Rank Hotel, Utako, Abuja, September 19, 2017.
In
his paper titled, Corruption and National
Development: Issues, Challenges and Solutions, Magu, who was represented by
Tony Orilade, acting Head, EFCC’s Public Interface Unit, pinpointed corruption
as the main reason why Nigeria has been unable to fully reach its potentials as
the Giant of Africa.
“We
are blessed with both human and mineral resources. But why have we been unable
to explore and exploit our potentials to the fullest? Your answer is as good as
mine – corruption,” Magu said.
According
to him, “anywhere in the world where strict adherence to ethics and values by
the citizenry is lacking, there will always be obvious deficit in morals, which
is the antidote to corruption”.
“As
far as we are striving to fight corruption to a standstill in Nigeria, sadly,
it is fighting back, really hard,” Magu said, stressing that the fight had
never been so savage.
Magu
noted that such attacks were not only being waged on the pages of newspapers,
but also in direct attacks on operatives of the agency. Two of such, he said, occurred
on August 16 in Abuja, and June 24 in Port Harcourt, where a top investigator
was shot, but escaped death by the whiskers.
“This
is why I am using this platform and opportunity to call on you all, members of
the Fourth Estate of the Realm, to support the fight against corruption,” Magu
said, noting that the agency remained unrelenting “in ensuring that we
rigorously pursue our mandate of ridding Nigeria of all forms of economic and
financial crimes”.
He
further urged the members of the Press to explore the power of the pen, “to push
for reforms in the judiciary, and society at large, by exposing corrupt
elements”.
Bukka
Abba, head of publicity, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in his
remarks, commended the doggedness of the EFCC in combating corruption, and described
Magu as “transparent and courageous”.
“From
day one, Magu has always been accountable and transparent to the core”, Abba
said, and called on all Nigerians “to support the EFCC in the fight against
corruption”.
Simeon
Ogoegbulem, Chairman of FICAN, stressed that as a law abiding association, it
puts the interest of the nation at heart, and never aims at bringing anyone
down.
“We
seek for your support, we are your friends, call upon us anytime, and when we
make inquiries, it is not to bring you down, but to disseminate accurate
information, we don’t engage in blackmail,” Ogoegbulem said.
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