A lawyer and public affairs commentator, Deji Adeyanju, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to intensify its monitoring of state government revenues and expenditure.
Adeyanju made the call while reacting to recent figures released by the anti-graft agency on its recoveries and convictions.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had disclosed that the commission recovered more than N1.23tn, $684.48m, £373,905.78 and €9.34m between October 2023 and June 2026.
According to him, N661.32bn and $492.37m of the recovered funds were released to beneficiaries during the period, while the commission secured 10,872 convictions out of 14,476 cases filed.
Commending the EFCC’s performance, Adeyanju said the figures showed that sustained anti-corruption efforts could deliver measurable results.
He said, “The recent disclosure by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ola Olukoyede, on the achievements of the Commission deserves commendation. The figures speak for themselves.”
Adeyanju, however, argued that the fight against corruption should not be limited to recovering funds after they had been stolen, but should also focus on preventing the misuse of public resources.
He said the removal of the petrol subsidy had resulted in increased revenue and fiscal inflows for state governments, making it necessary for the EFCC to scrutinise how the additional funds were being spent.
“More importantly, the fight against corruption must extend beyond recovering yesterday’s stolen funds to preventing the diversion of tomorrow’s public resources,” he said.
The lawyer urged the commission to investigate credible allegations of financial misconduct involving state allocations and expenditure.
He added, “The EFCC should, within its statutory mandate, pay closer attention to credible allegations concerning the diversion or misuse of these funds and follow the money from allocation to expenditure.”
Adeyanju acknowledged the progress recorded by the commission but maintained that successful recoveries and convictions alone would not be sufficient to eliminate corruption.
“The Commission has made commendable progress, but the fight against corruption cannot be won through recoveries alone,” he stated.
