EFCC will stop corrupt politicians
The anti-graft boss Farida Waziri said the commission has resolved to ensure that public offices became a no go area for corrupt former leaders who looted public treasury and facing prosecution.
Waziri said, this while receiving the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Sam Saba, adding “the world will laugh at us and describe Nigerians as unserious people” if such is not achieved in the 2011 election.”
She noted that the EFCC had already started seeing the posters of some persons wishing to vie for position but promised that the EFCC would get them at the right time to stop Nigeria from being a laughing stock in the comity of nations.
Insisting that the commission was empowered by the law to ensure that such politicians did not get to public office, Waziri pointed out that her anti-graft commission would work in collaboration with the Nigeria Police, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), State Security Service ( SSS), and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) among others to actualize that.
“With cooperation between the police, CCB, SSS, INEC, there is no way the corrupt will be elected in 2011. We will be there working and that information will be made available and based on the security report, they will be stopped at the appropriate point,” she said. “Legally, I would say that we are empowered to stop them. I see some of them producing posters and I say we will see how they will work this one out,” “Some corrupt elements will want to deploy their illicit funds to gain access to public offices, we are ready for them, and we are watching and waiting.”
“There is no way the corrupt persons will scale through; we will pass this information and based on security reports, they will be stopped at the right time. During election they make false promises and try to use money to pay you and buy your conscience and when they are there, the steal public treasury blind.
“That is why legally we are involved on the issue and we are empowered to look into it. Even though the law said someone is innocent until convicted but we know that some of these elements are responsible for these cases being stalled in court and for obvious reasons.
“If it is a case of bank fraud, advance fee fraud or cybercrimes, within short time they are over but for the politically exposed persons it is different. One case file that was started in 2005 by my predecessors, the plea has not been taken.
“So you can imagine what is happening. So how do we allow these people to come back and say they want to be leaders? I mean the world will laugh at us. We will use the issue that they have a pending case and that they are stalling trial for obvious reason and we are not going to allow them. I think I have seen some people's posters.
“It is just not fair, assets have been seized in the US, in the UK and you come to say you want to be a senator, or governor? Things don't work like that. We shouldn't make ourselves laughing stock if you have a conscience you will be happy that you have been given a chance to go and clear your name.