Nigerians Are Good People, It’s Our System That Allows Fraud To Flourish - EFCC Boss Speaks

Mr. Ola Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has stated that Nigeria runs a system that allows fraud to flourish.

The EFCC boss in statement signed by Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency’s Head of Media and Publicity asserted that if the same Nigerian who is corrupt in the Nigerian system is taken to an environment with strict regulatory compliance and structures, they will behave well.

Olukoyede made this known in Abuja on Thursday, when a delegation of the management staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), led by its MD/CEO, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, paid him a courtesy visit at the EFCC’s corporate headquarters.

Olukoyede assured that the EFCC would continue to do its job with unwavering determination and courage.

He said, "Fundamentally, Nigerians are good people and I say this anywhere I go. I am proud to be a Nigerian.

"The only problem that we have is the system that we run. A system that allows fraud to flourish.

“But if you take the same Nigerian who is corrupt in our system to an environment with strict regulatory compliance and structures, you will discover that he will behave.

“On our part in EFCC, we are resolute and not going to compromise. We have been called names and maligned but we are resolute. We are moving forward because somebody has to do this job and we will do it and deliver.”

"I told the entire Nigerians upon my assumption of office that we are going to use the instrumentality of the anti-corruption fight to build the economy. We are going to use the instrumentality of our work to build the economy and to ensure good governance as well,” he added.