ICYMI: Senate passes bill pulling NFIU out of EFCC in 24 hours

Twenty-four hours after the Senate mandated its Committee on
Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption to sponsor a bill seeking
autonomy for the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the bill has
emerged.

The committee was given four weeks to do its job.

Chairman of the panel, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, at the plenary on
Thursday presented the bill seeking to establish the Nigerian
Financial Intelligence Agency and it passed the first reading.

President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, said the bill
would pass the second reading before the lawmakers go on their
annual recess next week.

He specifically mandated the Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Rules and Business, which is responsible for the schedules of
legislative activities, Senator Baba Kaka Garbai, to fix the second
reading of the bill to next week.

“Let us see if we can schedule it for second reading next week
and do our best to see if we can pass it as quickly as
possible.

“Chairman of the Committee on Financial Crimes and
Anti-Corruption, please take note of that,” Saraki said.

The Senate panel had, on Wednesday, expressed its readiness to
probe into the management of international grants received by the
NFIU under the EFCC.

The legislature also said it would move the unit out of the
commission and make it independent.

The move followed the adoption of a motion by Utazi, titled,
‘Dire Implications of the Suspension of Nigeria from the Egmont
Group of Financial Intelligence Units.’

The lawmakers unanimously granted all the prayers of the motion,
including to pass a law that would create “a substantive and
autonomous Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit and make the unit
legally and operationally autonomous, with powers for the
employment, reward, training, promotion and discipline of its
workforce independently.”

Another prayer was to urge the Executive to include in any
supplementary budget estimate that might be presented to the
National Assembly before the end of the year as a separate budget
for the NFIU in view of the need to lift the suspension of Nigeria
as soon as possible.

Twenty-four hours after the Senate mandated its Committee on
Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption to sponsor a bill seeking
autonomy for the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the bill has
emerged.

The committee was given four weeks to do its job.

Chairman of the panel, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, at the plenary on
Thursday presented the bill seeking to establish the Nigerian
Financial Intelligence Agency and it passed the first reading.

President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, said the bill
would pass the second reading before the lawmakers go on their
annual recess next week.

He specifically mandated the Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Rules and Business, which is responsible for the schedules of
legislative activities, Senator Baba Kaka Garbai, to fix the second
reading of the bill to next week.

“Let us see if we can schedule it for second reading next week
and do our best to see if we can pass it as quickly as
possible.

“Chairman of the Committee on Financial Crimes and
Anti-Corruption, please take note of that,” Saraki said.

The Senate panel had, on Wednesday, expressed its readiness to
probe into the management of international grants received by the
NFIU under the EFCC.

The legislature also said it would move the unit out of the
commission and make it independent.

The move followed the adoption of a motion by Utazi, titled,
‘Dire Implications of the Suspension of Nigeria from the Egmont
Group of Financial Intelligence Units.’

The lawmakers unanimously granted all the prayers of the motion,
including to pass a law that would create “a substantive and
autonomous Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit and make the unit
legally and operationally autonomous, with powers for the
employment, reward, training, promotion and discipline of its
workforce independently.”

Another prayer was to urge the Executive to include in any
supplementary budget estimate that might be presented to the
National Assembly before the end of the year as a separate budget
for the NFIU in view of the need to lift the suspension of Nigeria
as soon as possible.