The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has praised the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, for raising the agency’s standards as the Federal Government received recovered beds and mattresses for distribution to unity colleges.
The commendation came on Tuesday during the handover ceremony at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, where the Commission presented beds and mattresses recovered from a cybercrime operation and forfeited to the Federal Government.
The recovered items include 501 double-step bunk beds, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses. The assets were recovered during a special operation codenamed Operation Eagle Flush.
Speaking at the event, Alausa applauded the EFCC Chairman for his leadership and commitment to the fight against corruption.
“Chairman, I commend you for bringing the highest level of standards to the EFCC,” Alausa said.
The minister also praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Olukoyede to head the Commission, saying the President has consistently demonstrated sound judgment in assigning responsibilities.
“President Bola Tinubu said one thing. He said he will never give somebody an assignment he does not know they can handle. Today, Mr President is the best talent hunter in this country, and presumably in the world.
“When he brought Mr Ola Olukoyede to the EFCC, the President knew what he was doing. Today, three years later, we have the cleanest EFCC in the history of this country,” he stated.
Alausa said the Commission has remained committed to the rule of law and has not been used to target innocent citizens.
“And it’s not an EFCC the President will use to victimise and harass innocent citizens. We have never seen that in the last three years. We have an EFCC that is operating within the confines of the rule of law,” the education minister affirmed.
He also noted that the Commission has shifted attention toward identifying major areas where corruption thrives, particularly in public procurement.
According to him, “Beyond trying to be proactive in fighting corruption, beyond identifying where we have the most burden of corruption, the biggest part of corruption in our government has to do with procurement. He has worked assiduously to really help reduce that in a proactive manner, not a reactive manner. That’s what leadership is all about.”
The minister disclosed that the recovered beds and mattresses would be distributed to Federal Unity Colleges across the country, noting that the education sector has benefited significantly from the Commission’s asset recovery programme.
In his remarks, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede said the handover reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to improving education by directing recovered assets toward the welfare of Nigerian children and youths.
Olukoyede disclosed that Operation Eagle Flush led to the arrest and investigation of 792 suspects, including 193 foreign nationals, who were later convicted, while the foreign suspects were deported to their respective countries.
He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the transfer because children and young people bear the greatest impact of corruption.
The EFCC Chairman explained that the handover was carried out under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act with the approval of the Federal Government. He added that it forms part of the Commission’s continued support for education, citing the transfer of ₦50 billion in recovered funds to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the conversion of Nok University into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.
“In line with the Provisions of the Proceeds of Crimes Act and the approval of the Federal Government, this gesture is a continuation of support to the educational sector, including N50bn of recovered funds to the Students Loan Scheme and conversion of Nok University to a Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State,” he declared
Olukoyede said the Commission would continue to recover proceeds of crime and ensure that recovered assets are deployed transparently for the benefit of Nigerians, with particular attention to programmes that support education and national development.