EFCC Presents N22Billion Budget To The House Committee On Anti-Corruption And Financial Crimes For 2019

EFCC Presents N22Billion Budget To The House Committee On Anti-Corruption And Financial Crimes For 2019

The Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu on Thursday, April 4, 2019
defended the Commission’s 2019 budget proposal of N22, 070,514,431.00,
(Twenty Two Billion, Seventy Million, Five Hundred and Fourteen
Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty One Naira) before the House Committee
on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes.

In his presentation, Magu lamented that incomplete releases of both
approved overhead and capital estimates, have in no small measure,
negatively impacted the ability of the Commission to meet its pressing
needs and obligations.

He noted that only 54.17% was released in 2018 while only 40.06% of
capital has been released so far with only two and half months to go to
the end of extended 2018 capital budget year.

This year’s figure represents a 16.38% decrease from the 2018 budget
of N26, 392,396,279.00, (Twenty Six Billion, Three Hundred and Ninety
Two Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Six Thousand, Two Hundred and
Seventy Nine Naira) and a rise of 14% in the personnel cost proposal
from 12.717 billion in 2018 to 14.491billion this year.

The increase in personnel cost according to Magu, accommodates the
salaries and allowances of 970 additional staff (currently being trained
at the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna), who are expected to be
fully enrolled on the personnel cost platform in 2019.

The additional staff, he said comprised 332 Assistant Detective
Superintendents, 293 Assistant Detective Inspectors and 95 support staff
that recently joined the Commission.

Magu expressed grief that the EFCC’s overhead cost which the Budget
Office reduced from N7.3billion to N3.6billion was grossly inadequate
for the Commission in view of the increased running cost, occasioned by
developments such as the opening of three additional zonal offices,
planned introduction of group staff life insurance of N650million, huge
outlays on generator fuel cost, increase in airfares, proposed 60%
increase in the rates of duty tour allowance (DTA) payable to staff on
official assignment.

The EFCC boss equally expressed worry over the Budget Office’s
drastic reduction of the Commission’s capital expenditure proposal from
N15.196billion to N3.978billion, representing a 74.82% reduction from
the approved estimate of N10.07billion in 2018.

He sees the approved capital budget expenditure as inadequate in the
face of the Commission’s N2.02billion outstanding liabilities to Julius
Berger; N1.5billion cost runs on its new head office complex;
N0.299billion liabilities for consultancy on new head office;
N0.47billion for purchase of security equipment (ammunition);
N1.1billion on furnishing of new head office building; development of
the permanent site of the EFCC Academy, Lafia; renovation of the old
EFCC head office building, Wuse 2, Abuja, and the renovation of the
Lagos Zonal Offices (10 Okotie Eboh and 15 Awolowo Road.

The anti-corruption czar disclosed that the 2018 budget witnessed an
increase in the personnel cost of the Commission from N7.6billion in
2017 to N8.5 billion, which were the consequences of the full enrolment
of 314 Assistant Detective Superintendents and same for 183 Assistant
Detective Inspectors following the completion of their training
programme in May and January 2018, respectively.

Others are: the completion of the Commission’s Jabi District, new
head office complex and relocation, the establishment of three new zonal
offices in Makurdi, Sokoto and Ilorin, the hosting of Heads of
Anti-corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa (HACA) in Abuja in May,
last year.

Also featuring was the anti-corruption concerts hosted in Abuja,
Kano, Lagos and Enugu as well as the first ever anti-corruption marathon
that drew out hundreds of marathoners from across the country, civil
society organizations, and sports celebrities; acquisition of hectares
of land in Nasarawa State for the construction of the permanent site of
the EFCC Academy, of which its development is expected to commence this
year.

Magu disclosed that in the course of the 2018 financial year, the
EFCC obtained 315 convictions, and has within the first three months of
this year, obtained 192 convictions. In the area of recoveries, he said
N11.5billion was recorded in final forfeiture, N133.8billion in
non-forfeiture recoveries, N8.92billion in direct deposits,
N38.12billion in tax recoveries, N1.82billion in subsidy recoveries, and
N42billion from banks (Third Party), totalling N236billion.

These, according to Magu, “are in addition to recoveries of various
sums in other currencies, other assets, jewelleries (gold) and
recoveries for major government agencies including NNPC and AMCON.”
Within the first quarter of the current year, 2019, the Commission, he
said, has made recoveries which included: N140.7million in cash,
N2.021billion in direct deposits, N7.20billion in tax recoveries,
N3.06billion in subsidy recoveries and $0.292billion.

He disclosed that the Commission was challenged in the areas of huge
maintenance cost of the new head office building; inadequate resources
to manage a huge and growing fixed asset forfeiture base and inadequate
ICT infrastructure. Magu noted that “there is presently the complete
absence of internet services at the New Head Office and zonal offices,
including other related ICT service deliveries”.

The Commission, he disclosed, requires a minimum of N800million to
upgrade its present state of ICT infrastructure. This is in addition to a
proposal to Salaries, Income and Wages Commission for an upward review
of salaries and allowances of the staff of the Commission. “This has
been forwarded to the Presidency and, if approved, will be covered by
Supplementary Appropriation,” Magu said.

Other challenges according to him are: poor detention facilities,
particularly in the zones, inadequate office equipment, absence of
health and fitness facilities in the head office and zones, lack of
equipment in the clinics and inadequate office accommodation in the
zones.

The Commission’s zonal offices in Ilorin, Makurdi, Uyo and Benin, he
said are rented. There is also the pressing challenge of inadequate
operational vehicles in the head office and across the zonal offices. In
his response, the Chairman, House Committee on Anti-corruption and
Financial Crimes, Hon. Kayode Oladele who led other committee members,
described the 2018 budget performance of the Commission as a huge
success.

Kayode and other committee members promised that, the committee will
support the anti-graft agency in any area it needs parliamentary
intervention in its drive to achieve a better performance and outcomes