The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has assured local government council chairmen and chairmen of traditional rulers’ councils across the country that anti-corruption enforcement will penetrate the grassroots to bring development closer to the people.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at the maiden Annual National Conference of Local Government Council Chairmen and Traditional Rulers Councils, Olukoyede said the Commission’s commitment to accountability does not stop at the federal level. Represented by the Director of Public Affairs, CE Wilson Uwujaren, he noted that as more resources flow to local governments, the real measure of success will be whether the funding translates into tangible improvements in the lives of grassroots communities, adding that the EFCC’s work supports every pillar of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He highlighted the conversion of recovered proceeds of crime into public investment, noting that the Federal Government had directed N50 billion each from recovered funds to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, with further funding since approved. He also cited the transformation of the forfeited former NOK University in Kaduna State into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, which had enrolled 1,909 students by December 2025.
On national security, Olukoyede said economic crime and security threats could no longer be treated as separate concerns, pointing to terrorist financing, illegal mining, cross-border cybercrime and money laundering as serious security issues. He disclosed that the Commission’s specialised enforcement portfolio had recorded 920 cases and 212 convictions, with further investigations and prosecutions ongoing.
He added that almost 60 per cent of the Commission’s processes and operations had been digitalised, alongside continued investment in the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and investigative technology to protect Nigeria’s fast-growing digital economy. “We will investigate professionally, prosecute on the strength of evidence and respect the constitutional role of the courts in determining guilt or innocence. No title should place anyone outside the reach of the law, but neither should the fight against corruption be separated from due process,” he said.
Olukoyede recalled that between October 2023 and the period covered by the Commission’s recent stewardship account, the EFCC recorded recoveries exceeding N1.233 trillion, alongside about $684.48 million, £373,905.78 and €9.34 million in other currencies. He said roughly two-thirds of the naira recovered was returned to ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies and individuals, with federal and state tax recoveries alone totalling about N288.1 billion.
