Obasanjo reveals why he established EFCC, ICPC at the ISGPP's Conference

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Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president of Nigeria has revealed that he prevailing existence of corruption in the country was the reason his administration decided to set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).

The former president said this during the inaugural conference organized by the Ibadan School of Government and Policy (ISGPP) which took place, today, Monday, February 1.

Obasanjo revealed that when he became president in 1999, he had to first battle the issue of debt.

“In the first year, the debt kept pilling and we had to keep servicing it. Luckily for us, the Paris club wrote of our N18 billion; the largest in sub-Saharan Africa.”

The former president said it didn’t take time for him to identify corruption as the single bane of the country’s development which necessitated the setting up of the EFCC and the ICPC. He noted however that corruption seems to be fighting back with a vengeance and the battle is now starting afresh

He said: “I identified corruption as the greatest single bane of our society which was why I set up the ICPC and the EFCC to tackle it head long. Corruption drains billions of Dollars from our economy. Corruption has returned to Nigeria and we are just beginning to fight it afresh.”

He advised that “corruption must not have resting place in our society because it destroys almost everything”

Obasanjo said the high scale of unemployment calls for serious reflection as well as the issue of insecurity especially the Boko Haram insurgency in the north east.

The former president lashed at state governors who he claimed have turned the local government to their personal estates. He said the corruption in the local government has prevented the small of the society from developing which is why ‘models that works elsewhere fail in Nigeria”

He charged ISGPP to stimulate a serious and competent synergy between research and public discourse