By Egena Sunday Ode
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, Thursday said the three governors already listed aren’t the only ones the Commission is keeping an eye on for suspected money laundering.
He declined to state the specific number of the governors being watched by the Commission.
Bawa made the disclosure while fielding questions from newsmen at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
About a fortnight ago, the EFCC boss had hinted on the anti crime agency’s surveillance activities surrounding three governors, whom he claimed were being watched over activities suspected to be money laundering, in the aftermath of the Federal Government’s proposal to redesign the naira.
Asked if it’s true he was using the EagleEye to monitor governors wanting to use stashed funds to pay salaries, he said: “You are mixing two things. EagleEye is an app. It’s a novel idea of the EFCC that we launched for the ease of reporting crime to us. Nigerians can easily download it on their phones, either Android or Apple or whatever. And then of course, they can send in complaints to us through The EagleEye, you can even take pictures and send.
“Let me use this opportunity to remind Nigerians that EagleEye is very important for those that are reporting the hoarders of these currencies that we know are out there. So that is one. On the issue of the governors that we are monitoring, in fact, the numbers have even increased. We are monitoring everything.”
Bawa lauded the proposal to redesign the naira, calling it a crucial step in the nation’s fight against financial crime and other types of corruption.
He asserted that the enormous amount of the nation’s currency that has escaped the control of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) makes it difficult to track down financial crimes, noting that the redesigning of the naira is a chance for the government to retake control over the flow of money in the nation.
