The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has sought the assistance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to stem the tide of forgery of its certificates by fraudulent companies and individuals to secure contracts.
Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Dele Oyewale, in a statement, said the appeal was made on Friday, May 31, 2024, when the Regional Manager of NSITF, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Dr. Geoffrey Otokito led a delegation of top officials of the Fund to the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the EFCC on a courtesy visit.
While appealing for the Commission’s assistance against the forgery of its certificates by unscrupulous individuals and companies, Otokito appreciated the efforts of the EFCC in the fight against corruption, and economic and financial crimes.
“People are tempted to compromise and that is why we are here at the anti-graft agency. Instead of following the due process, contractors’ resort to cutting corners, forging our certificates to fetch themselves contracts. The EFCC has been doing excellent work in the anti-corruption fight and I think you have to come in and look at this area and see how you can help prosecute these individuals,” he said.
In his response, the Acting Zonal Director of EFCC, Port Harcourt Command, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Adebayo Adeniyi expressed delight with the visit and thanked the NSITF team for seeking the intervention of the EFCC on the matter. He assured them of EFCC’s readiness to work with the Fund in the interest of the country.
“Collaboration based on tackling the certificate forgery issue you mentioned is possible. If you discover any forgery henceforth, you can bring a petition to us. Our work is intelligence-based, but your request has to come by a way of petition, then we will handle it from there. An organisation like yours that is doing a lot for the citizens should not be subjected to such fraud,” he said.
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