1 month ago
4
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Silas Onu, has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lacked the right to channel recovered loot to student loan scheme.
The former Ebonyi South PDP senatorial candidate said EFCC must send every money it recovered as proceeds of corruption to the federation account in line with the country’s law.
Onu, a former chairman of Ebonyi PDP, said this on Wednesday, in reaction to ₦50 billion donated by EFCC to Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
On the commission’s website, on Tuesday, EFCC disclosed that NELFUND’s Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, led his team to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The statement said the visit was in appreciation for ₦50 billion donated to the student loan scheme. “We are aware of the funds from the proceeds of crime extended to NELFUND. We are here to express our gratitude for the gesture. We also want the EFCC to exercise oversight on what we are doing,” it quoted Sawyerr.
In reaction on his X handle, Onu noted that EFCC’s donation of recovered loot without following the law was crime.
He advised NELFUND against using the donation from EFCC.
“Does EFCC have the powers to appropriate Nigeria’s money recovered from fraudulent persons in any way? I think that this singular act by EFCC is also a financial crime. All monies must be sent to the Federation Account and appropriated by the National Assembly, not EFCC. NELFUND should not touch a penny of that sum until this question is resolved,” Onu said.
Recall that Naija News reported that the Senior Special Assistant to the President Bola Tinubu on Citizenship and Leadership, Rinsola Abiola, revealed that the federal government channeled ₦50 billion to student loan scheme.
Mrs. Abiola said the move was a win in federal government’s war against corruption. She added that another ₦50 billion recovered by EFCC was also channeled to Credit Corps scheme of the government.
English (US) ·