Assessment of the Effectiveness of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Under President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in Nigeria From 2015 to 2017

Abstract

One of the major challenges of governance in Nigeria is corruption especially in the public realm. In response to this challenge, the Federal Government established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to combat corruption and promote transparency and accountability in governance. In spite of the establishment of EFCC, the fight against corruption seems not to have achieved the desired result in view of the rising incidence of corruption as indicated by Transparency International’s negative Corruption Perception Index on Nigeria. The major objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of EFCC under the Muhammadu Buhari Administration in Nigeria from 2015 till date. Specifically, the study intended to; examine the impact of Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade on socio -economic and political development, determine the degree of autonomy of the EFCC and to ascertain the level of effectiveness of the EFCC. Both primary and secondary data were sourced using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 20). Findings from the study which relied on both primary and secondary data revealed that the activities of the EFCC were severely constrained by undue political interference. The institution was not adequately funded with feeble financial autonomy. The corruption reporting system in the federal public service was found to be more effective under Buhari Administration. The study concluded that the degree of autonomy of the EFCC under the administration is weak while its level of activities is more noticeable in the public glare in the Buhari regime than other regimes because the regime identified the fight against corruption as a key governance agenda. The study recommended among others, the exercise of greater political will to free the EFCC from political interference with adequate funding and greater financial autonomy for the institution.