LAWMAKER TASKS EFCC ON CORRUPTION IN CIVIL SERVICE

A member of House of Representatives in Ekiti State, Mr. Bamidele Faparusi, has advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to beam its searchlight on federal and state civil service across the country if it intends to win the war against corruption.

Faparusi, who gave this advice in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, said the anti-corruption campaign would not record success if it focused solely on politicians.

The lawmaker said massive corruption was daily being perpetrated by civil servants across the country.

Describing civil servants as more corrupt than politicians, the lawmaker said the EFCC would have missed the target if it refused to look at the civil service, which he described as the 'engine room of corruption.'

He explained that the system of operations made it very easy for civil servants to commit corruption, saying it was a pity that anti graft agencies did not look at this direction.

He said, 'Politicians are more careful now more than before because they are aware that everybody is watching them. I am not saying that there are no corrupt politicians again but no politician wants to suffer humiliation which can affect his/her electoral fortunes.

'Without sounding immodest, civil servants are more corrupt and should be investigated even more than the politicians for EFCC and ICPC to be successful in their war against corruption.'

Faparusi urged the Federal Government to repackage the National Directorate of Employment to be able to cope effectively with rising number of unemployed graduates.

'The NDE is now dealing more with educated people without skills, so it has to work beyond the level of training the people for poverty alleviation. The educated people need skills to be self-sufficient, so that they can stand on their own and employ people to work for them,' he said.