EFCC Boss, Magu Gets Global Endorsement

The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, has received an endorsement from outside the country as 25 countries around the world have applauded his work in fighting corruption in Nigeria.

The endorsement is the outcome of an opinion poll conducted by United Kingdom-based Global Peace Movement International.

It is instructive to note that the outcome of the poll is coming a week after the Transparency International (TI) released its latest transparency index in which Nigeria, for the first time in over a decade, moved up in the global anti corruption and transparency ranking.

This development, analysts insist, is directly related to the efforts of the EFCC to tackle corruption headlong and change the negative perception of the country.

According to the report by TI, the corruption perception index ranked 176 countries on a scale of 0 (perceived to be corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be clean). In the report released, Somalia was ranked the most corrupt country in the world for the 10th straight year.

Speaking on the poll, the President General of the UK- based Global Peace Movement International, Dr Mike Uyi, explained that the decision to conduct the poll was based on the need to conduct an international survey to ascertain global opinion on the work of the EFCC, pointing out that Magu secured more than 96 per cent endorsement by respondents, with the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, Canada, China and Belgium all commending the work of the EFCC in tackling graft.

According to the report of the survey, the US leads the list of countries that endorsed Magu with 92 per cent responding in favour of the work Magu was doing, while 7 per cent responded in the negative.

The UK returned a 96 percent affirmative and France 85.

Other results of the poll showed 90 percent Germans voting in favour of the acting EFCC chairman, while 9 percent disapproved. Russia had 62 percent in favour of Magu, while 29 percent disapproved. Greece was 73 percent in favour, with 22 percent going the other way.

Malta had 80 percent in favour with 17 percent disapproval; Sweden, 85 percent approval, and 7 percent disapproval; Belgium, 85 approvals and 8 disapproval; Switzerland had 76 approval, and 11 percent disapproval; Norway, 85 approval and 8 percent against; Austria, 81 percent approval and 6 percent disapproval, while India had 53 per cent approval and 26 percent against.

Others are Brazil with 65 percent approval and 27 percent disapproval, same with China having 65 percent approval rating for the acting EFCC chairman while 22 percent disapproved, Denmark had 84 percent approval and 4 percent disapproval, while Canada had a 91 percent approval and 3 percent disapproval.

Japan was 92 percent approval and 3 disapproval, Luxembourg, 83 percent approval and 4 disapproval, Mexico, 83 percent approval and 7 disapproval, Portugal, 68 percent and 22 percent , South Korea, 74 percent and 16 percent , Principality of Monaco had 80 percent approval and 11 percent disapproval, The Netherlands, 82 percent approval and 5 percent disapproval, while Lithuania had a 72 approval and 13 percent rating for the acting EFCC chairman.

Uyi also stated that the results of the survey on other public elected or appointed officials in Nigeria will soon be released to the public.