Oil barons pushed me out of EFCC – Waziri

PIC.25. MRS FARIDA WAZIRI, FORMER EFCC CHAIRMAN.

 Oil barons pushed me out of EFCC – Waziri
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By Our Reporter  on November 2, 2015
ERSTWHILE Chairman of the Economic and Finan­cial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Wa­ziri, yesterday revealed that she came under “fierce at­tacks, slander, blackmail and threats,” while trying to end oil-money induced corrup­tion.
In a statement by her me­dia aide, Ade Williams, the ex-chairman said she was happy that there is ‘a new sheriff in town’, alluding to the anti-corruption stance of President Muhammadu Bu­hari.
Mrs Waziri spoke at Benue State University, Makurdi during the inauguration of World Bank’s Africa Centre of Excellence Project, Cen­tre for Food Technology and Research.
The university was chosen by the World Bank as one of the centres for its 10 Africa Centre of Excellence Project.
While calling for a dras­tic diversification of the nation’s economy from oil through policies that would boost agricultural productiv­ity and reduce corruption, the ex-EFCC boss said long years of over-dependence on oil revenue was one of the driving forces of public and private sectors, corruption in the country.
Waziri said diversifica­tion of the economy would also boost industrial output for the socio-economic de­velopment of Nigeria. She said: “No doubt, our over-dependence on oil revenue has brought us to the point where we are as a nation today. As an anti-corruption czar, I have seen how some of those the nation entrusted with its oil resources in the past helped themselves more than the country.
“With our focus on agri­culture, the struggle by politi­cal office holders to steal oil fund would diminish while the national wealth will be in the hands of the people in­stead of a privileged greedy few. We cannot all dig oil wells in our backyard, but we can all farm in our back­yards. It is time to end oil-money induced corruption in our land by buying into President Buhari’s vision and take ownership.
“I have made my contribu­tions in the fight to discour­age that and even recovered some of the looted funds in billions of dollars. For dar­ing to do that, I came un­der fierce attacks, slander, blackmail and threats, but by God’s grace and long years of experience, I survived all. I am glad today that in­deed, there is a new sheriff in town,” Mrs. Waziri noted.