Honorable Kayode Oladele the Chairman; House Committee on Financial Crimes discusses the 2016 budget of the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) In the 8th National Assembly has appealed to President Mohammed Buhari without further delay assent to the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria Bill, 2021 on his table.
Hon. Kayode made the call while celebrating the 51st birthday of the Pro-term President of CIFIPN,
Part of the statement obtain by the OBSERVERS TIMES Read:
I wish to, on behalf of myself and my entire family, warmly and wholeheartedly felicitate with you on this auspicious day of your birth and to acknowledge your invaluable contribution to national development through your resolute commitment to the emancipation of this country from the clutches of corruption – which has held this country under siege for quite a long time.
You have demonstrated extraordinary courage, forthrightness and intellectual prowess by championing a noble course, which you have doggedly pursued from your youthful age to this very moment that you have clocked the prestigious age of 51 years.
You have exuded humility, patience and
perseverance all these years; and despite fierce opposition from unimaginable quarters – who tried everything within their powers to enmesh your efforts in the murky waters of despondency, you kept hope alive and your resilient efforts paid-off with the historic passage of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria Bill, 2021 by the National Assembly, which is now before Mr President for Assent.
On this special day of your life, I wish to categorically state that you are not alone in this noble quest. It will be recalled that in the annals of the history of the 8th National Assembly, I was one of the Co. Sponsors of the Bill, when it was introduced in the House of Representatives. We unanimously supported the passage of the Bill after a painstaking evaluation of its purpose and intent, and we found out that the solution to the endemic corruption in this country can be nipped in the bud with the deployment of forensic acumen – in line with global best practices. The dynamism in the way and manner that crimes are perpetrated in modern time require scientific and technological maneuvering, which is within the fulcrum of what forensic science and investigation is all about.
On this note, I humbly call on our dear President, President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency and in the National interest, sign the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria Bill, 2021 into law because it remains the only potent weapon that can be used to track crimes, which has assumed a more tricky and complex dimension – so the need to approach it with innovation in the context of tackling cyberspace and other related crimes with out of the box thinking . The enactment of this legislation gives energy to the belief that the Government is truly committed to its anti-corruption drive – otherwise, the anti-corruption crusade mantra of this administration will be just a mere rhetoric or lip-service.
Finally, I wish to state, without any iota of contradiction that any opposition or campaign of calumny being canvassed against the signing into law of this Bill, can be viewed as corruption fighting backing, realising that when this Bill is eventually signed, there won’t be an escape route for corrupt practices in the country. Therefore, I appeal to Mr President to disregard any form of insinuations from any quarter and exercise his presidential powers by Assenting to this laudable Bill.
Once again, happy birthday, the indefatigable Protem President of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria. May you live long to fulfil the plan and purpose of God for your life (Amen).
Hon. Oladele Kayode
CHAIRMAN HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL CRIMES IN THE 8TH ASSEMBLY, House of Representatives .
