Firing Waziri won't fix EFCC

Sack of former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, would not help the agency which is in 'dire need of broad institutional reforms', Human Rights Watch said yesterday.'The EFCC's mandate is to fight corruption that the political system actually rewards, and to accomplish that by working through institutions that are either broken or compromised,' 'That's an almost impossible job no matter who is in charge,' said Daniel Bekele, Africa Director at Human Rights Watch.He said, 'One of the EFCC's greatest weaknesses has been its lack of independence and susceptibility to political pressure.'President Jonathan's sudden firing of Farida Waziri will only make that problem worse unless the government pushes through reforms to bolster both the EFCC and the other institutions it depends on.'The group recommended legislative amendments granting tenure security to the commission chairman as it can never be truly independent if the president can dismiss its chairman at will.The group also requested the government to bolster other anti-corruption institutions like the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Code of Conduct Bureau.
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