‘NOT THE RIGHT TIME,’ GOV. FINTIRI OPPOSES SCRAPPING OF EFCC

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Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has kicked against the scrapping of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying it is not the right time to do so.

The governor stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Hard Copy on Friday.

He argued that rather than abolishing the anti-graft agency, it should be strengthened to work better in fight corruption cases.

“For me, it is not the right time that we should kill the Economic (and) Financial Crimes Commission whether it has come wrongly or rightly,” Fintiri said.

“We need to strengthen it, we need to make it work better, we need to remove the politics within it that sometimes some people cry that they are being witch-hunted instead of going for the real issue.”

Govs Challenge EFCC’s Legality
The governor also weighed in on the recent suit filed at the Supreme Court by 16 state governors challenging the legality of the laws establishing the commission.

On Wednesday, the apex court fixed October 22 to hear a suit filed by 16 state governments challenging the legality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The suit, instituted by the Kogi State government and 15 other states, is challenging the constitutionality of the laws establishing the EFCC.

The 15 other states joined in the suit, marked: SC/CV/178/2023, are Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Nassarawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross-River and Niger.

When asked if Adamawa would join the suit, the governor said he is still discussing with the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

He explained that he wasn’t aware when the 16 states filed the suit at the apex court to challenge the legality of EFCC.

“As of yesterday, I am not. I am still going through it with my attorney general. If the need be, I will join but at the moment I am not.

“I was not aware when they went to court. Now that I am aware, I will look at the document, I will look at the issues involved,” Fintiri said.