Sunday Mirror’s editorial of January 20, 2013, titled: “FG and the funding of EFCC” makes an interesting reading but for a few distortion of facts which needs to be corrected for the general public to be properly informed. It is not true that the EFCC did not exhaust its 2012 appropriation. The true position was clearly explained by Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC Executive chairman, as he appeared before the National Assembly during the 2013 budget defence. He said the Commission is seriously underfunded and the Sunday Mirror editorial rightly pointed out, adversely affecting its operations. Listen to Lamorde as he addressed the national Assembly: “It is important to note that for 2012, we requested for N21.8 billion from the Budget Office of the Federation out of which only N10.9 billion was allocated representing 51% of our requirement”.
For example he said further, of the N300 million and N700 million requested for Legal Services and Staff/office Equipment Insurance Premium respectively for 2012, not a kobo was allocated. Also, the total budget estimate of N10, 978,037,520.00 for 2012 represents a decrease of N2, 876, 631, 949. 00 from that of 2011 appropriation figure of N13, 854, 669, 470 or 21% thereof. Of the N10 billion requested for the construction of the Head office in the 2012 budget, only N3 billion was appropriated and as at November 21, 2012, only N1, 392, 820,256.00 was released.
It is also important to point out that as at November 21, 2012, the total outstanding installment on Personnel Allocations stood at N140, 420, 893.97 while total installment on Overhead Allocations received as at 21 November 2012 was N113, 418, 371.12. Total outstanding installment on Capital Allocations received as at 21 November, 2012 was N1, 336, 246, 732.00. The story has not changed till date.
Arising from this ugly development, Chairmen of both the Senate and House Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption, Senator Victor Lar and Hon. Adams Jagaba had clearly kicked against the starvation the EFCC was made to face as it relates to funding. On December 3, 2012, when the EFCC went to the National Assembly for the 2013 budget defence, Hon Jagaba had said: “it is even more saddening when funds have been appropriated for the agency in the budget of the federation by the National Assembly and the funds are not released. We are not happy because if truly we want EFCC to work, EFCC must be funded properly. We cannot expect the EFCC to work with nothing. For instance, during the 2012 budget consideration, we discovered that nothing was proposed under Legal Services; the Committee then appropriated N200 million for legal services, but the executive said no to that. We are calling on those saddled with the release of budgeted funds to release the balance of your money under the 2012 budget”.
Senator Lar had also on 22nd November, 2012, advocated proper funding of the anti-graft agencies if the war against corruption and economic crimes in Nigeria is to be taken seriously. The Senator who said that there exists a want of harmony between the verbal pronouncements of the government and the financing of the fight against economic and financial crimes explained that “It is not in doubt that the expectation of the Nigerians on the direction, speed, scope, effectiveness in the fight against corruption rests with the economic and financial crimes commission”, he declared.
Lamorde, during the presentation told the committees that for 2013, the EFCC requested for N6.51 billion for personnel cost and only N5.8 billion was appropriated by the Budget Office, leaving a short fall of N710 million. Lamorde lamented that due to this short fall, the Commission would not be able to meet its personnel cost fully in 2013.
There is therefore a disconnect between the fact postulated in your editorial as it relates to your position that the starvation is because there is always a case of budget carry-over (of unspent funds).
Orilade is a staff of the EFCC
