The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), has said that it is closely monitoring the spending habits of top politicians as they ramp up their campaigns ahead of the 2023 general elections in an effort to prevent a scenario in which they would use the money to influence the electoral process.
The EFCC’s chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, stated that the commission is cautious not to interrogate some of them so as to avoid appearing to be engaged in political witch-hunting.
He acknowledged that the anti-graft body is currently closely examining several petitions against some prominent political personalities that have already been submitted to the commission.
He confirmed the development on Thursday while participating in the weekly briefings organized by the Presidential Media Team at the State House in Abuja. He said the EFCC’s Petitions Vetting Desk/Committee, which is made up of experienced officers from the Legal Department as well as those trained to investigate such petitions, is currently reviewing these petitions to determine whether they have merits that will warrant prosecution.
Bawa emphasized that the anti-graft organization he leads is prepared to work for Nigerians’ interests without fear or favor, and that the EFCC is working on every petition that has been sent to it to determine the authenticity of such petition.
When asked if the EFCC has received any complaints against any of the 18 candidates vying to become President by 2023, Bawa simply stated: “My concern is, at this hour, do you want us to start inviting all the presidential candidates to come to our office to make statements? You, the same media, will say it’s politically motivated.
“So we are not, but we are working behind the scene regarding such petitions we have received to see those that have merits, so that’s why we are not politicizing it.
“That’s another reason why we have what we call Petitions Vetting Desk/Committee made up of experienced officers from the Legal Department as well as those trained to investigate that will review these petitions to see whether they are in line with our own mandate before they will recommend whether they will be prosecuted by the EFCC.
“There are also benchmarks, so to speak, that guide our procedures, you know, in terms of accepting or rejecting petitions, as we also have criteria which have even been publicised to guide petitioners on the requirements to make a petition to have merit.”