US pledges more support for EFCC

The United Sates Government will continue to support the efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in tackling economic crimes and corruption in Nigeria.
James Entwistle, the new American Ambassador to Nigeria, made the pledge in Abuja on Monday when he paid a courtesy visit on the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde.
The American envoy, who observed that corruption remains a global challenge, pledge his country’s continued support to the EFCC.
Even though he did not state the form the support will take, Entwistle said he was impressed with the programme of the Commission and that his country will support the EFCC “in any way we can”.
Earlier, while welcoming the envoy and his team, Lamorde commended the United States Government for its support for the EFCC since its inception.
He said the US Government remains a major international ally of the Commission in the fight against corruption and financial crimes, adding that the agency has had several joint operations with a number of US law enforcement organisations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Postal Inspection Service.
He said: “We will do our utmost best not to let you down. We know you have confidence in us. We will make sure that the confidence is not misplaced. The US does not want us to be involved in politics and we will try to do that so that we don’t get drowned in politics.”
Lamorde said the Commission remains neutral and non-partisan in the discharge of its responsibilities.
He added: “Most of the times anything that happens, whether people are at fault, they blame it on someone else. Even when there is a genuine case and you go after an individual, they will start saying that he is being haunted because he is this or that. It is a situation that is laden with land mine now. So we have to meander to avoid stepping on the land mine so that they don’t blow us up. It is very difficult. We went through that in 2011. Sometime when election is coming, it becomes very difficult to do anything.”
He however assured the ambassador that the Commission will not be deterred.
“We have decided to do our job to the best of our ability with the dictate of our conscience, knowing what is right and what is not,” he said.
Lamorde said despite the challenges confronting the Commission, it was able to secure 117 convictions in 2013.