War Against Corruption: No Sacred Cows, Says FG

Posted by admin Top Stories Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

Vice-President Namadi Sambo said Tuesday there would be no sacred cows in the Federal Government’s drive against corruption.

He spoke at Mbora District of Abuja where he performed the foundation laying ceremony for the new headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which cost is put at N18, 867,283,615.14.

Sambo said the project handled by construction giant, Julius Berger, was a testimony of government’s commitment and determination to reform governance and reduce corruption to the barest minimum.

The VP said it had become imperative for the nation to take its prime place in the committee of nations or be confined to insignificance.

He said the project was evidence of the administration’s zero tolerance for corruption , stating that democracy and development would be at great risk if corruption continued to prevail in public life.

“The project is a message to Nigerians and indeed the international community that this government will ensure that the rule of law and justice must prevail in our national life. It is a message that perpetrators of corruption no matter their rank or position will be exposed and brought to justice”, he said.

“The international community”, he said, “equally looks up to Nigeria in resolving some of the world’s intractable problems particularly in Africa. We will not be able to live up to those expectations in the midst of corruption and bad governance”.

He praised the EFCC which he said is one of the most respected institutions in Nigeria and had changed the image of the country as an advance fee fraud nation with continuous improvements in theTransparency International’s global corruption perception index.

In her remarks, Chairman of the commission, Farida Waziri, thanked government for approving the contract for the construction of the building and the support it had received so far. She said the commission had recovered N7 billion in the last seven years.

In his speech, Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, Wolfgang Goestch, promised to deliver the project to specification and ensure that it met international standards.

The ten-storey building is designed to include state of the art forensic laboratory, cells, armoury, clinic, administrative offices and interrogation rooms which are to be fitted with audio and visual aids for effective monitoring and supervision.

-ThisDaywp_posts