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Home 2022 Budget efcc News 2022 Budget: EFCC Budgets N100m For Purchase Of Photocopying Machine

2022 Budget: EFCC Budgets N100m For Purchase Of Photocopying Machine

The early submission of the proposed N16.39 trillion budget for 2022 by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has elicited several reactions from Nigerians.

Just like previous budgets, the 2022 proposed budget, after much scrutiny, appeared to contain loopholes through which taxpayers funds could be diverted into private coffers as it contained some frivolous items.

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Ranking high on the list of frivolous items in the budget is the proposed expenditure by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), chaired by Abdulrasheed Bawa, who assumed office on February 24, 2021.

According to the proposed budget, the EFCC penned down the sum of N100,000,000 (One Hundred Million Naira) for the purchase of a Sharp 646 Photocopying machine — with no specific number of the equipment to be bought listed under the project with code ERGP15168212.

The budget also revealed the plans by the commission to spend N362,075,000 (Three Hundred and Sixty Two Million, Seventy-Five Thousand Naira) for the “purchase of various office furniture and fittings” with code ERGP15168199.

Another item that stood out on the list and now perceived to be a yearly tradition in the anti-graft agency is the “purchase of computer software/hardware acquisition and software licenses” with code ERGP15168243, budgeted at the sum of N291,552,850 with no provision of the specific number of software or licenses to be purchased.

The commission which is renowned for its clampdown on cybercriminals and financial crime perpetrators in Nigeria has been generally criticized over the aforementioned items budgeted for.

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Budget experts and civic organizations in Nigeria like BudgIt have also asserted that earmarking such ridiculous amounts for projects like that is exorbitant and could give room to misappropriation of funds.