President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said Monday that the federal government is investing looted funds recovered from corrupt officials into critical social programmes aimed at reducing economic pressures on vulnerable Nigerians.
The president said this at the opening session of a Capacity Building Workshop for Justices and Judges organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC,) in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja.
“This government also sought to ease the pressure on vulnerable populations to embrace corrupt practices through strategic investment of recovered proceeds of corruption in critical social programmes.
“The two notable ones are the Students Loan Fund being managed by Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Consumer Credit Scheme under the supervision of the Nigerian Credit Corporation.
“With easy access to loans, we are confident that most of our indigent students will have no need to embrace cybercrime, while the credit scheme offers workers easy access to money to fund their needs in spite of the harsh economic realities,” he said.
The president, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said the initiatives were designed to provide financial relief and deter individuals from resorting to corrupt practices.
“With easy access to loans, we are confident that most of our indigent students will have no need to embrace cybercrime.
“The credit scheme offers workers easy access to money to fund their needs despite the harsh economic realities,” he said.
The president stressed the need for all Nigerians to unite in the fight against corruption, stressing that “no Nigerian is immune to corruption, a cancer that denies every Nigerian the benefits of the nation’s resources.”
He said rather than rely solely on anti-graft agencies, everyone must close ranks to tackle what he called “common enemy.”
“I consider this initiative significant for the simple reason that it provides a platform to collectively raise a strong voice against a common enemy in our nation, corruption. No Nigerian is immune to corruption, a cancer which continues to deny the nation the full benefits of her God-given resources.
“Rather than look up to only the Anti-Corruption Agencies for solutions to this malaise, I believe it is in our enlightened collective interest to close ranks and aggressively tackle this common enemy.
“It is on this note that I want to thank the leadership of the National Judicial Institute, NJI, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) for initiating this yearly seminar for prosecutors and judicial officers.
“The commitment and courage of judicial officers make a difference in this fight.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that the judiciary is central to the success of the anti-corruption efforts. The commitment, courage and patriotism of judicial officers are ingredients that make the difference in the fight against corruption.
“Though I am aware that prosecution of corruption matters has improved due to justice sector reforms, we are not oblivious to challenges that impede speedy adjudication,” he said.