Ibrahim Magu EFCC
EFCC
Ibrahim Magu EFCC
EFCC Wants Budget Increase for New Staffs,
Others
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Tuesday,
March 26, 2019 made a defence of its N22,
070,514,431.00, (Twenty Two Billion, Seventy Million, Five Hundred
and Fourteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty One Naira) 2019
budget proposal before the Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and
Financial Crimes.
The 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).
The 2019 fiscal year, sees a 14% increase in the Personnel Cost
proposal from 12.717 billion in 2018 to 14.491billion in 2019. The
increase according to the Acting Chairman of the Commission,
Ibrahim Magu, “accommodates the salaries and allowances of 970
additional staff approved for recruitment, who are expected to be
fully enrolled on the personnel cost platform in 2019.” This,
he further reveals, “comprises 332 Assistant Detective
Superintendents, 293 Assistant Detective Inspectors currently
undergoing training at NDA Kaduna and 95 support staff that
recently joined the services of the Commission.”
The Commission he said “has also made proposal for an upward
review of salaries and allowances of its staff to Salaries, Income
and Wages Commission. This has been forwarded to the Presidency
and, if approved, will be covered by Supplementary
Appropriation.”
The Commission’s overhead cost which the Budget Office reduced
from N7.3billion to N3.6billion was considered grossly inadequate
by the Commission in view of the running cost of three new zonal
offices, proposed group staff life insurance of N650m, 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.
Same for capital expenditure proposal, which was drastically
reduced from N15.196billion to N3.978billion, represents a 74.82%
reduction from the approved estimate of N10.07billion in 2018.
Magu considers the capital budget approval inadequate in view 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.
Though N14.571billion, (Fourteen Billion, Five Hundred and
Seventy One Million), which is a little over half of the 2018
budget approval was released to the Commission, Magu enumerated the
highpoints of his Commission’s last year budget performance to
include: 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; 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.
Others are the hosting of Heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in
Commonwealth Africa (HACA) in Abuja in May, last year;
anti-corruption concerts hosted in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Enugu as
well as the first ever anti-corruption marathon that featured
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 development is expected to commence
this year. Also, is the furnishing of the Commission’s Forensic
Laboratory, located in the Commission’s Head Office Complex with
state-of-the-art equipment.
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 160 convictions.
In the area of recoveries, 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, jewelries (gold) and
recoveries for major government agencies including NNPC and
AMCON.
In the first quarter the 2019 Financial Year, the Commission
according to Magu, 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.
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.
The EFCC chairman also decried that only 54.17% was released in
2018 while 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.
According to him, the Commission is challenged in the following
areas: huge maintenance cost of new head office building,
inadequate resources to manage a huge and growing fixed asset
forfeiture base, 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 requires a minimum of N800m to upgrade its
present state of ICT infrastructure.” Others challenges according
to him are: poor detention facilities particularly in the zones,
inadequate office equipment e.g. absence of health and fitness
facilities in the head office and zones and equipments for clinics;
inadequate office accommodation in the zones.
The Commission’s zonal offices in Ilorin, Makurdi, Uyo and
Benin, according to him are rented. There is also the pressing
challenge of inadequate operational vehicles in the head office and
across the zonal offices, and lack of office furniture in the new
head office building and across the zonal offices.
In his response, the Chairman, Senate Committee on
Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes, Senator Chukwukwa Godfrey
Utazi who led other committee members, Senator Mohammed Sabo and
Senator Matthew A. Urhoghide described the 2018 budget performance
of the Commission as “a huge success.”
In his words, “the committee will support every incentive of the
anti-graft agency in terms of insurance cover, housing scheme,
upward review of salaries for staff and that a certain percentage
of funds recovered should be allocated to staff for better welfare.
It is sacrosanct to ensure the insurance cover for such a
multi-million naira edifice as the EFCC Headquarters in view of the
fire incident that happened in the EFCC, Wuse 2, Abuja office last
year.”
Tony Orilade
Ag. Head, Media & Publicity