The Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq has hinted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in Ilorin, the state capital, has contributed immensely to secure the resources of the state from being looted by corrupt persons.
“The EFCC has been proactive, they started working before we came onboard, I thank the EFCC for helping us in Kwara State,” he said, promising that “the state government will work with the anti-graft Commission for the benefit of our people, and we should join hands together to make the state work again.”
Abdulrasaq was speaking at a Public Education/Citizen Enlightenment Program organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, and the National Orientation Agency, NOA, in Ilorin, on August 6, 2019 with the theme, “Value Orientation and the fight Against Corruption”.
He said: “This state was already down when we came into power, no water in the hospitals, no electricity, and the system was totally in chaos, no chairs in our schools, the money was being diverted.
“Corruption had eaten deep in the government [but] we are working with the EFCC to ensure that all these abuses disappear from the system.
“It is very important to know that when we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us as a nation.”
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Earlier, the Head of Operations, EFCC Ilorin Zonal Office, Isyaku Sharu, called on stakeholders, especially the parents to assist government in fighting corruption and building a better society.
“As parents, you have a big role to play, you must educate your children about the dangers of corruption, and when your Child is mingling with bad people in the society, you must call them to order,” he said.
He further noted that one of the focal areas of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, was to fight corruption to a standstill, adding that, though the country is not in the place where it is supposed to be, “I can tell you that we are not in the place we were before, because this government is making progress when it comes to the issue of fighting corruption”.
He said: “Within few months of our operations in Kwara State, we have made significant achievements, and just last week, the EFCC secured final forfeiture of a N150,000, 000 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) property (Plaza) to the Federal Government. The property hitherto belonged to a civil servant
“The Commission (Ilorin Zonal Office) has also secured about 30 convictions, in less than one year of operations, with the majority of them being internet fraudsters.”
