TMG wants Buhari to sack Larmode, EFCC boss

Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Larmode.

The Transition Monitoring Group on Thursday called on the incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari to embark on “a total cleaning up and overhauling” of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and sack its present leader, Mr. Ibrahim Larmode.

The TMG said Nigerians had lost confidence in the ability of the EFCC to prosecute the fight against corruption.

According to the organisation, the agitation became necessary because the EFCC currently had little or no value in the reckoning of Nigerians.

Several telephone calls to the spokesperson for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, for response were not replied.

The Chairman of TMG, Mr. Ibrahim Zikirullahi, made the position of the organisation known in Abuja, while presenting the findings of a survey the organisation conducted on governance and the expectations of Nigerians on Buhari’s administration.

He said, “What we have here today as EFCC is more or less a political structure the government of the day determines the area to go. We want a new leadership in EFCC.

“All we see is that the more the money that is given to the EFCC, the more corruption we see in Nigeria. So, as far as we are concerned, we are calling on the incoming administration to overhaul the EFCC. In fact from beginning to the end, there should be a serious cleaning of the EFCC.

“We need people with sound mind, people that are intelligent, people that are courageous, people with the will, people that are ready to put their lives on the line to do the needful to make sure that Nigeria is rid of corruption. These are the people that can take Nigeria to the promise land, because any system that encourages corruption is doomed.

“The EFCC must be put in the first line charge, so that the issue of money will not be a problem in tackling corruption in this country. But those that we are putting there must also be examined to know that they are not corrupt.”

Zikirullahi said the governance survey focused on broad-based citizens’ expectations in relation to the thematic issues that the incoming administration should focus on.

He added that despite the high expectations of Nigerians, they know that the incoming government could not solve all the problems confronting the system in one fell swoop.

Zikirullahi said the survey was based on dominant opinions expressed by 774 LGAs supervisors concerning the most discussed issues in their localities.

The data generated from respondents, he said, showed that the dominant thematic areas were unemployment, corruption, electricity, security, and education in that order.

The TMG also called on the incoming administration to open up alliances with credible civil society organisations to foster the participation of the ordinary Nigerian in the entire gamut of governance.

“From tomorrow (today), Nigerians will be moving into a future filled with so many promises, and they hope to see those promises becoming real in their daily lives. At TMG therefore, we are not under any illusion that the road will be easy. It will be tough, but we call on all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe and tongue, to get set to be a part of the journey towards a great and new Nigeria,” Zikirullahi stressed.