The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the National Productivity Centre, NPC have agreed to collaborate on a wide range of initiatives aimed at tackling corruption and boosting productivity in the commanding heights of the economy.
Speaking on Thursday, September 5, 2024, during a courtesy visit to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, NPC Director-General, Baffa Babban Dan’agundi, said the partnership would help his agency achieve its mandate of monitoring the productivity of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies MDAs in the country.
Dan’agundi, who assumed office barely a month ago, said his agency had already started working with some MDAs, with remarkable results. “We have started working with some of the MDAs and they are sending a lot of accolades. We had only three training sessions when I came, and I understand we have a lot to do in terms of improving the productivity of the MDAs and the country at large,” he said.
“We believe the mandate of this agency should be put into use, and some of these actions which we have started enrolling… We hope you’ll work with us and that you will give us this opportunity and we pray we don’t disappoint you,” Dan’agundi said.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, welcomed the collaboration, saying it would help in tackling corruption, which he identified as a major obstacle to productivity in the country.
“There is a nexus between the issue of productivity and corruption… I believe this is an area where we can collaborate and work together. You have a huge assignment and task in your hand, before now the only thing we heard about your agency is giving of productivity awards, and no other thing,” Olukoyede said.
He tasked the NPC to move beyond just giving productivity awards and work towards measuring productivity in 774 local government areas and the federal level.
Olukoyede also advised the NPC to be diligent in selecting recipients of productivity awards, saying, “In the past, we have seen where awards were given to all manners of criminals and other financial crimes suspects… Be diligent in the people you give awards to.”
The two agencies have agreed to work together in areas such as training, administration, and Servicom. Olukoyede said the EFCC was open to learning from the NPC, particularly in the area of administration and Servicom.
“We are open to knowledge every time, if there are areas where we can collaborate, particularly in the area of administration and Servicom, we don’t mind, we are open to it,” he said.
