AWKA — Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has recounted his experience with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following the end of his tenure as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), saying the commission eventually cleared him of any wrongdoing in an investigation involving the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Plc.
Soludo spoke on Friday during the commissioning of the EFCC Awka Zonal Directorate Complex, which will serve Anambra and Imo states
The governor said he was invited for questioning after his name was mentioned in connection with an EFCC investigation into the activities of the Mint, where he had served as chairman of the board
He said he appeared before the commission after receiving a month’s notice of the investigation but did not hear from the EFCC for about a year
According to Soludo, he subsequently wrote to the commission seeking an update and was informed that the investigation had not established any corrupt conduct on his part
“My personal testimonies about the professionalism of this Commission is that when I left office as CBN Governor, EFCC was investigating Nigeria Printing and Minting Company, the Mint, an agency within the bank
“I was chairman of board of the Mint and was given one month notice of investigation and I showed up After about a year, I didn’t hear from them, so I wrote them and they said that the investigation didn’t show any corrupt action about me,” he said.
Soludo further said the then EFCC chairman had clarified that he was not the subject of the investigation after his name was mentioned in connection with the matter
He said the commission subsequently wrote to him confirming that its investigation had not established any wrongdoing on his part
“When my name was mentioned in connection with the investigation, the former chairman of EFCC told them that I was not the subject of the investigation
“Subsequently, the Commission wrote me a beautiful letter and said the investigation showed I didn’t have anything to do with the matter,” Soludo said
The governor said his experience had reinforced his appreciation of the commission’s work, particularly the need for investigators to formally communicate the outcome of inquiries to persons who were invited but not found culpable
“So I deeply appreciate the professionalism of the Commission I want to urge that if you invite someone and later fail to find him complicit, you must write and say so, especially in this part of the world where, if you invite people, it finds its way into the pages of newspapers because they see invitation as an indictment,” he said.
On the establishment of the EFCC’s Awka Zonal Directorate, Soludo said the state was pleased to host the facility, saying its presence would facilitate faster investigation of financial crimes in the region
“Some people might be asking why we are so excited about having the zonal office in our state The reason for our excitement is that it will enhance quicker investigation,” he said.
The governor said the EFCC’s staffing constraints made it difficult for the commission to establish offices in all 774 local government areas, adding that the Awka directorate would, in the meantime, serve Anambra and Imo states
“Ideally, EFCC should have offices in the 774 local government areas of the country, but with only about 6,000 staff, it is difficult to have offices in all LGAs So this regional office will serve in the meantime and we will cooperate with you to serve the two states,” he said.
Soludo said the Anambra State Government would seek the commission’s assistance in areas relating to revenue and taxation, while also working to improve knowledge of financial crime prevention among civil servants and local government officials
“We will not just be waiting for you to come from Abuja; we will be visiting you because it’s in our own interest that we should minimise financial crimes to the barest minimum We assure EFCC of our fullest co-operation,” he said.
He said the fight against economic and financial crimes required collective responsibility, assuring the commission that Anambra would cooperate with it in every possible way
According to him, the work of the EFCC was important to national development and required cooperation among government institutions and citizens