Against the backdrop of reports of internet fraudsters captured in the past few days, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged Kwara State academia to support its quest to arrest the rising internet fraud in tertiary institutions.
Michael Nzekwe, the zonal commander of Ilorin, made this call this during an interactive meeting with heads of tertiary institutions including vice chancellors of universities, rectors of polytechnics and provosts of colleges of education in Kwara State at the commission’s office in Ilorin.
Among other things, the meeting deliberated on causes of corruption, its effects on students and the institutions and the larger society while also discussing preventive measures to adopt in curbing corrupt practices in tertiary institutions.
Nzekwe said it was unfortunate that citadels of learning were becoming environments where corrupt practices, maladministration and diversion of public funds thrive.
He said, “Our universities must endeavour to change the current negative narrative regarding the quality of education in Nigeria.”
He said the EFCC could rid the country of corruption with the active participation of institutions.
“We at EFCC are passionate about engendering discipline, honesty, hard work, accountability and transparency through our proactive mechanism of checkmating corruption and we will remain antagonistic against fraud and every form of corruption in our institutions,” he added.
He also told the participants about the efforts of the EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to ensure anti-corruption courses are incorporated in the curriculum of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, represented by Professor O.A Omotesho, then commended the EFCC’s efforts in ensuring probity and transparency in the private and public sectors of the state.
On his part, the rector of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, Dr. Abdul Jimoh, also commended the initiative of the Ilorin zonal command of the EFCC in bringing heads of tertiary institutions together on a round table to discuss issues of corruption as it affected their various institutions.
He said Kwara Polytechnic had made it a policy that it would no longer offer admission to applicants already convicted for one crime or the other.
