By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, on Friday, revealed how Nigeria has been losing over N40bn annually to employment fraud since 2007.
Olukoyede spoke during a meeting with the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association at the EFCC headquarters
The EFCC boss recalled his research into employment fraud before joining the anti-graft agency, lamenting that employees also defrauded themselves.
A statement on Friday by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, quoted him as saying, “In 2007, before I joined the EFCC, I conducted research on employment fraud, focusing on how employers defraud their staff and how employees also defraud their employers.
“I discovered that Nigeria was losing over N40bn every year to employment fraud.”
He further explained that upon assuming the role of Chief of Staff at the EFCC, investigations into the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System uncovered widespread fraudulent salary payments to non-existent employees.
“We found that many individuals were receiving salaries without being employed by the government. Our intervention helped save billions of naira.
“Even now, “we are still investigating these fraudulent activities because criminals keep developing new tactics, and we must keep innovating to counter them.”
The EFCC chairman emphasised the importance of continuous vigilance and preventive measures to curb financial crimes.
He reiterated that fraudsters are constantly evolving, making it necessary for law enforcement agencies to stay ahead with new anti-corruption strategies.
Olukoyede also described corruption and financial crimes as the greatest problems, hobbling the economic growth and development of the country.
He said, “You don’t need a soothsayer or a prophet to tell anyone in Nigeria that our major problems are financial crimes and corruption.
“One of the major obstacles to our economic development, an albatross and a cankerworm to our progress, is the issue of corruption and financial crimes. And that is exactly our mandate.”
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, Adewale Oyerinde, stated that NECA needed synergy and collaboration with the EFCC as a result of the quantum of money that has been lost in the private sector in recent times; “many of them were reported, which is quite startling for us.”
According to him, “We are here to seek collaboration with the EFCC in whatever context and partnership in tackling the issue.
“In specific terms, we are looking at having joint workshops on the role of the private sector in reducing or eradicating the menace of money laundering, cybercrime, and identity thefts, which are becoming the major concern not only to you as EFCC but also to us as organised businesses.”
