Budget: EFCC to acquire land, fence with N3.7bn

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) plans to, in 2020, spend N3.7 billion on procurement of land for offices and fencing of hectares of land acquired in different parts of the country.

The 2020 Appropriation Bill, which President Muhammadu Buhari presented to the National Assembly last week, shows that a large chunk of the EFCC’s capital allocation would be expended on the procurement and fencing of large hectares of land in different parts of the country.

If approved, the EFCC would use N63,612,773 to fence its 1.8 hectares of land at Pwoyi village in the Federal Capital Territory; N141, 127,926 to fence 50 hectares of land for its proposed Academy at Orozo , a Nasarawa State community and another N3,371,940 for the fencing of land for its proposed office in Benin, Edo State.

The EFCC has also proposed to procure an expanse of land for its exhibit park at Maiduguri, Borno State, for N7,225,585 and an unspecified size of land for “future development” at its Gombe office for N12,042,6421.

It also intends to purchase office buildings at its Port Harcourt Zonal office for N115, 609,385.

The EFCC also plans to spend N22, 265,818 on procurement of land for what it termed “permanent development in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital while also proposing the sum of N20,472,492 to compensate locals at Piwoyi village in the FCT to “cover cost of economic trees, farmlands, etc.”

The anti-graft agency further proposes to spend N24, 085,284 to compensate locals at Orozo village in the FCT to cover cost of economic trees, farmlands, and the same amount (N24,085,284) for the same purpose at Kwandere, a community near Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.