Jonathan didn’t undermine us, says EFCC

Crimes Commission, EFCC,
yesterday debunked a report
that President Goodluck
Jonathan incapacitated
the commission with poor
funding.
A national daily (not
Nigerian Pilot) had reported
yesterday that the EFCC
fared badly under President
Jonathan because the outgoing
administration starved it of
funds.
But in a reaction to the
report, Head of Media and
Publicity of the EFCC, Mr.
Wilson Uwujaren said, “Our
attention has been drawn to a
report in the (name withheld),
entitled, “Jonathan starved
EFCC of funds – Lamorde”,
in which the chairman of the
commission, Mr. Ibrahim
Lamorde, was quoted as
indicting the out-going
Jonathan administration of
poor performance.
“The Commission takes
exception to the report which
is a pure fabrication by the
author for reason best known
to him. In the first place,
Lamorde who is currently out
of the country did not speak
with the media and could
not have made the comments
attributed to him by The Sun
newspapers.
“The occasion that provided
the basis for the false report
was a media briefing by
Mr. Wilson Uwujaren,
spokesperson of the EFCC,
who addressed more than
40 journalists from over 30
media organisations at the
commission’s monthly media
briefing in Abuja on Monday,”
he said.
Uwujaren, in the statement
he issued, declared that at
no time during the event
did he comment on the
performance or lack of it, by
the Jonathan administration
let alone accusing it of poor
performance or starving the
commission of funds of its
mandate of fighting economic
crimes and corruption.
Uwujaren lamented that, “It
is a great disservice to society
when journalists fabricate and
twist issues to serve motives
that are not altruistic.”