Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mrs. Farida Waziri has called for more support for the commission from the international community especially in capacity building saying that is the only way Nigeria could benefit from countries that had made marks in the fight against corruption.

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Her call, which came on the heels of the commissioning of the EFCC Data Centre, was made while receiving the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Nigeria, Mr Arie van der Wiel on Tuesday 12 August, 2008 at her office in Abuja.

She reinstated her resolve to eradicate corruption or at least, reduce it to the minimal level noting that capacity building is a means towards achieving the feat. “Eradication of corruption could be accomplished through capacity building of officials involved in this fight and I am looking forward to countries that have achieved so much in this war like your country, to avail us of opportunities for training either here or oversea”, she stated.

Waziri acknowledged Netherlands’s support to EFCC through its membership of the European Union, which has tremendously supported the commission. “I am happy to note that EFCC already has a bilateral relationship with you and in fact, your contribution to us through the EU got to the climax today with the commissioning of our data centre. It is a beautiful project that will serve the commission very effectively.”

The Commission’s Chief Executive revealed that EFCC had taken its war against corruption to other areas like the private sector which she acknowledged has been a hub of the menace.

Earlier while congratulating the Chairman on her assumption of office as the head of the commission and the successful opening of the EFCC data centre, Mr. Wiel said it was gratifying to note Nigeria’s positive downward slide in the Transparency International (TI) corruption index. “We have Nigeria’s fight against corruption very high on our agenda. We are very pleased about what your government has done in this fight over the last few years.”

He however called for a refocused fight against economic crimes towards the private sector where according to him, most of the crimes perpetuated at that level are largely unreported. The envoy said that his country has had a robust relationship with EFCC and had supported it in capacity building.He extended an invitation to the Chairman to his country saying it would afford her the opportunity to understudy his country’s strategy in the fight against corruption.

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