By 247ureports.com
Anambra State Governor Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo has declared that the fight against corruption and financial crime must be treated as a collective national responsibility, speaking as keynote speaker at the official commissioning of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) new Awka Zonal Directorate.
The Commissioning
The event took place at Udoka Estate, Awka, with the commissioning performed on behalf of President Bola Tinubu by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas. The new directorate will cover both Anambra and Imo states, forming part of a broader EFCC expansion that has also recently brought new zonal offices to Ekiti and Katsina states.
Soludo’s Remarks
Welcoming the agency’s new operational hub, Soludo said: “We are excited to host this EFCC office in Awka. You are beginning to drill down the function of fighting crimes to the grassroots. Fighting crime is everybody’s business, and the work of the EFCC is pivotal for our national development.” He argued that no society can progress under the weight of pervasive economic and financial crime, adding that young people increasingly want a lifestyle unmatched by any legitimate income.
Soludo also shared a personal account of his own experience with the agency, recalling that he was investigated by the EFCC during its probe into a minting company while he served as Central Bank Governor. “I was given one month invitation notice by EFCC during their investigation of the Minting Company. I honoured the invitation and followed through with the investigation until it was eventually concluded,” he said, adding that the EFCC later formally cleared him, writing that “at the conclusion of our investigation there is no evidence.” He said he kept that letter, and praised the agency’s professionalism in following through with a formal response. “People deserve to know the end of every investigation, and we will help you produce results for our people,” he said.
Federal and State Officials React
Speaker Abbas reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment under the Renewed Hope Agenda to providing an enabling environment for anti-corruption institutions to operate effectively. Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma thanked President Tinubu for expanding fiscal room for subnational governments and commended the decentralization of EFCC operations, describing the agency’s modern approach as now reflecting “a commendable human face.” Senator Emmanuel Udende, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Financial Crimes, and Hon. Ginger Obinna Onwusibe, his House counterpart, both pledged full legislative backing for the commission’s work.
Igwe Chidubem Iweka, Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers’ Council, called for longer-term preventive measures, including integrating anti-corruption education into primary school curricula and administering traditional oaths of office for public officials.
EFCC: A Shift Toward Prevention
EFCC Executive Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede said the Awka Directorate is designed to broaden the commission’s institutional presence, expand access to justice, and protect legitimate economic activity across the South East. He disclosed that the commission is shifting its strategy from primarily investigating and recovering stolen funds toward preventing diversion before it happens — including newly approved monitoring of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) releases to state and local governments, a measure he said President Tinubu had personally approved.
Olukoyede argued that prevention is the more effective strategy precisely because recovery is costly and incomplete: once funds are stolen, he said, “the best you can recover is 60 percent,” with the recovery process itself consuming a further 20–25% of whatever is eventually retrieved. He urged communities to normalize whistleblowing and maintain active oversight of financial transactions, and called on state governments to collaborate with the EFCC in vulnerable areas such as internally generated revenue collection and land registries.
Olukoyede reassured residents that EFCC officers are deployed strictly to enforce the law within its legal limits, not to oppress the public, and said the new Awka office is expected to significantly boost intelligence gathering, accelerate financial crime prosecutions, safeguard public revenues, and strengthen investor confidence across Anambra, Imo and the wider South East region. The directorate’s complex will also serve Imo State.
