Magu blames secessionist agitation, insurgency on corruption

— 9th July 2017

Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has linked the wave of separationist agitations across the country to the impacts of corruption.

Speaking at a stakeholder’s Forum in Kano, on Friday, Magu held that the current agitation for the Republic of Biafra, the Boko Haram insurgency and the agitation for the restructuring of Nigeria by some people were as result of corruption in Nigeria.

While offering that on one hand, some of these agitations were funded by corrupt Nigerians, he explained that corruption had also denied a majority of Nigerians access to deserving socio economic opportunities, making them think that dividing, rather than uniting the country, was a solution.

Lamenting that corruption was a threat to national unity which was capable of destroying the labour of the nation’s founding fathers, he asked Nigerians to rise in unison to combat the menace as, “there is no way that falsehood can defeat the truth”

He assured Nigerians of the commitment of President Muhammed Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the fight against corruption, saying both leaders were zealous and had the political will to fight corruption.

He held the Forum was convened in realisation that the EFCC and other corruption fighting agencies cannot alone fight corruption in Nigeria, hence the need to enlist the civil society, organized labor and the media in the sensitization of Nigerians against the menace .

He added that experience had shown that preventing corruption was a potent weapon against corruption, charging the civil society and organized labor to reach out and mobilize their communities against corruption.

Kano State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Kabiru Ado Minijbir, in his remarks, appreciated the Commission for its efforts in mobilizing Nigerians against corruption.

He acknowledged that the negative impacts of corruption were felt mostly the workers adding that as a result of corruption many state government had not been able pay their workers in many states for months.