The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has said that the African Vision (Agenda 2063) will be a mirage if corruption was not decisively dealt with on the African continent.
According to him, corruption has increased poverty and inequality on the continent.
Bawa stated this on Monday, at the virtual meeting of the 5th African Union Day of Anti-Corruption with the theme: ‘Regional Economic Communities: Critical Actors in the Implementation of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption.’
He stated that graft presents a major threat militating against the actualization of the “Africa of good governance, democracy, and respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law… which is the vision of African Agenda 2063”.
The EFCC chairman, who was represented by the Director of Intelligence, Abubakar Saád, observed that corruption is a threat to the dream of a united and prosperous Africa, according to a statement by the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren.
“It (Corruption) has drastically increased the prevalence of poverty and inequality on our continent. Our continent continues to suffer from rampant debilitating capital flight and illicit financial flows, accompanied by a consistent decline in the standard of living and quality of life of our people”, he explained.
He, however, remarked that the adoption of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption signed in Maputo, Mozambique, on 11th July, 2003 and its coming into force in 2006, has brought about remarkable progress in the fight against corruption.
“It has also provided a fulcrum for Regional Economic Communities to synergize anti-corruption efforts undertaken by National Anti-Corruption Authorities and measure the impact of prescribed interventions,” Bawa noted.
