2019 made a defence of its N22, 070,514,431.00, (Twenty Two Billion,
Seventy Million, Five Hundred and Fourteen Thousand, Four Hundred and
Thirty One Naira) 2019 budget proposal before the Senate Committee on
Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes.
The figure represents a 16.38% decrease from the 2018 budget of N26,
392,396,279.00, (Twenty Six Billion, Three Hundred and Ninety Two Million,
Three Hundred and Ninety Six Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy Nine
Naira).
The 2019 fiscal year, sees a 14% increase in the Personnel Cost proposal
from 12.717 billion in 2018 to 14.491billion in 2019. The increase
according to the Acting Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Magu,
“accommodates the salaries and allowances of 970 additional staff approved
for recruitment, who are expected to be fully enrolled on the personnel
cost platform in 2019.” This, he further reveals, “comprises 332
Assistant Detective Superintendents, 293 Assistant Detective Inspectors
currently undergoing training at NDA Kaduna and 95 support staff that
recently joined the services of the Commission.”
The Commission he said “has also made proposal for an upward review of
salaries and allowances of its staff to Salaries, Income and Wages
Commission. This has been forwarded to the Presidency and, if approved,
will be covered by Supplementary Appropriation.”
The Commission’s overhead cost which the Budget Office reduced from
N7.3billion to N3.6billion was considered grossly inadequate by the
Commission in view of the running cost of three new zonal offices,
proposed group staff life insurance of N650m, huge outlays on generator
fuel cost, increase in airfares, proposed 60% increase in the rates of
duty tour allowance (DTA) payable to staff on official assignment.
Same for capital expenditure proposal, which was drastically reduced from
N15.196billion to N3.978billion, represents a 74.82% reduction from the
approved estimate of N10.07billion in 2018.
Magu considers the capital budget approval inadequate in view of the
Commission’s N2.02billion outstanding liabilities to Julius Berger,
N1.5billion cost runs on its new head office complex, N0.299billion
liabilities for consultancy on new head office, N0.47billion for purchase
of security equipment (ammunition), N1.1billion, on furnishing of new head
office building, development of the permanent site of the EFCC Academy,
Lafia; renovation of the old EFCC head office building, Wuse 2, Abuja, and
the renovation of the Lagos Zonal Offices (10 Okotie Eboh and 15 Awolowo
Road.
Though N14.571billion, (Fourteen Billion, Five Hundred and Seventy One
Million), which is a little over half of the 2018 budget approval was
released to the Commission, Magu enumerated the highpoints of his
Commission’s last year budget performance to include: increase in the
personnel cost of the Commission from N7.6billion in 2017 to N8.5 billion,
which were the consequences of the full enrolment of 314 Assistant
Detective Superintendents and same for 183 Assistant Detective Inspectors
following the completion of their training programme in May and January
2018, respectively; completion of the Commission’s Jabi District, new head
office complex and relocation; the establishment of three new zonal
offices in Makurdi, Sokoto and Ilorin.
Others are the hosting of Heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in
Commonwealth Africa (HACA) in Abuja in May, last year; anti-corruption
concerts hosted in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Enugu as well as the first ever
anti-corruption marathon that featured hundreds of marathoners from across
the country, civil society organizations, and sports celebrities;
acquisition of hectares of land in Nasarawa State for the construction of
the permanent site of the EFCC Academy, of which development is expected
to commence this year. Also, is the furnishing of the Commission’s
Forensic Laboratory, located in the Commission’s Head Office Complex with
state-of-the-art equipment.
Magu disclosed that in the course of the 2018 financial year, the EFCC
obtained 315 convictions, and has within the first three months of this
year, obtained 160 convictions.
In the area of recoveries, N11.5billion was recorded in final forfeiture,
N133.8billion in non forfeiture recoveries, N8.92billion in direct
deposits, N38.12billion in tax recoveries, N1.82billion in Subsidy
Recoveries, and N42billion from Banks (Third Party), totalling
N236billion.
These according to Magu “are in addition to recoveries of various sums in
other currencies, other assets, jewelries (gold) and recoveries for major
government agencies including NNPC and AMCON.
In the first quarter the 2019 Financial Year, the Commission according to
Magu, made recoveries which included: N140.7million in cash, N2.021billion
in direct deposits, N7.20billion in tax recoveries, N3.06billion in
subsidy recoveries and -$0.292billion.
Magu lamented that incomplete releases of both approved overhead and
capital estimates, have in no small measure, negatively impacted the
ability of the Commission to meet its pressing needs and obligations.
The EFCC chairman also decried that only 54.17% was released in 2018 while
40.06% of capital has been released so far with only two and half months
to go to the end of extended 2018 capital budget year.
According to him, the Commission is challenged in the following areas:
huge maintenance cost of new head office building, inadequate resources to
manage a huge and growing fixed asset forfeiture base, inadequate ICT
infrastructure.
Magu noted that “there is presently the complete absence of internet
services at the New Head Office and zonal offices, including other related
ICT service deliveries. The Commission requires a minimum of N800m to
upgrade its present state of ICT infrastructure.” Others challenges
according to him are: poor detention facilities particularly in the zones,
inadequate office equipment e.g. absence of health and fitness facilities
in the head office and zones and equipments for clinics; inadequate office
accommodation in the zones.
The Commission’s zonal offices in Ilorin, Makurdi, Uyo and Benin,
according to him are rented. There is also the pressing challenge of
inadequate operational vehicles in the head office and across the zonal
offices, and lack of office furniture in the new head office building and
across the zonal offices.
In his response, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and
Financial Crimes, Senator Chukwukwa Godfrey Utazi who led other committee
members, Senator Mohammed Sabo and Senator Matthew A. Urhoghide described
the 2018 budget performance of the Commission as “a huge success.”
In his words, “the committee will support every incentive of the
anti-graft agency in terms of insurance cover, housing scheme, upward
review of salaries for staff and that a certain percentage of funds
recovered should be allocated to staff for better welfare. It is
sacrosanct to ensure the insurance cover for such a multi-million naira
edifice as the EFCC Headquarters in view of the fire incident that
happened in the EFCC, Wuse 2, Abuja office last year.”