Oil & Gas : Lack Of Transparency Hampering Nat’l Devt- Olukoyede

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has warned that lack of transparency, particularly in the country’s oil and gas sector, is harmpering national development and eroding public confidence.

Ola Olukoyede described the financial reporting system as “deeply opaque,” with speculative earnings and poor oversight fostering inefficiency and corruption.

Speaking at a National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance in Abuja, Mr Olukoyede , represented by the EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, said digital manipulation, budget padding, and unauthorized spending were among the numerous threats facing Nigeria’s fiscal system.

“Despite years of reforms, we continue to see a wide gap between policy intent and real public impact,” he said. “The time has come to shift from reforms on paper to enforcement in practice.”

He pointed to the misuse of government financial platforms like GIFMIS and IPPIS, which have reportedly been used to carry out payroll fraud in some federal ministries and departments.

To address these challenges, the EFCC has launched a dedicated Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department to monitor and block financial loopholes in government spending.

Mr Olukoyede said the EFCC had recovered trillions of naira in the past year and a half, including what he called Nigeria’s largest-ever real estate recovery of 750 duplexthe capital, Abuja.

According to him, recovered funds have been redirected into key national programmes such as student loans and consumer credit schemes.

Also, he said some confiscated properties are also being converted into low-cost housing for vulnerable Nigerians.

But the EFCC boss said the fight against corruption cannot succeed without broader institutional support and public participation.

He called for greater use of real-time digital tracking of budgets and projects, enhanced public access to government spending data, and tougher integrity checks for public servants.

Mr Olukoyede directly told the House that no oversight report from the Public Accounts Committees had ever been sent to the EFCC for investigation.

“Parliament cannot demand accountability if it doesn’t practise it,” he said.

“If public trust is to be rebuilt, lawmakers must also embrace transparency.”

He urged closer collaboration between the National Assembly and anti-corruption bodies to ensure oversight efforts are not seen as “toothless exercises.”

Mr Olukoyede therefore called for a new national culture of fiscal integrity.

“Let’s make accountability a patriotic duty,” he said.

“Together, we can build a Nigeria where government works for the people and not the other way around.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji