2019: EFCC will partner INEC to monitor election spending – Magu

Ibrahim Magu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, September 12, disclosed that bank accounts will be monitored for suspicious transactions and warned banks to desist from being collaborators with shady politicians.

Channels TV reports that the EFCC noted that it would partner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor campaign spending ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Ibrahim Magu, the acting chairman of the commission, noted that the ambition is aimed at addressing the rising cases of vote-buying and improving governance.

Magu maintained that the excessive use of money during elections leads to gross financial abuse and distortion of the electoral process thereby giving room for enthroning bad leadership. According to him, “Before now, it was inconceivable for law enforcement agency to investigate the source of election funding of political parties and their candidates.

“This has led to gross financial abuse and the distortion of the electoral process and consequently enthrone bad leadership which in turn led to corruption and bad governance.

“Our people will hope to gain in this process of disinfecting the electoral process by monitoring the finances of election because it will help to improve governance when good candidates are elected not moneybags.” Magu added that monitoring election spending will make politicians more circumspect as they prepare for the general elections.

Meanwhile, the acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, alleged that some Senior Advocates of Nigeria frustrated the anti-graft war by helping in the distribution of the proceeds of crime. Magu said a particular SAN, whose identity he left unrevealed, received N1.7bn as legal fees from a corrupt politician, Punch reports.

He said the same SAN received N300m from a governor in the south-south as legal fees for an election petition case and failed to pay tax but quickly took advantage of the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme when he realised he was under probe.