Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Ndume said Buhari should sign an executive order to activate the Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) and make the work of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) more efficient.
“The President has the right to sign an executive order. Nobody can challenge it in court. The President should also send a bill on unexplained wealth to the National Assembly to domesticate the UWO. Most advanced countries of the world are practising it,” he said.
Ndume also spoke against the practice of plea bargain in the fight against corruption, saying the government should not encourage it.
“I don’t support the plea bargain. Anybody who steals government money must be dealt with. It is unfair to steal N100million from government coffers and return N80million in the guise of plea bargaining,” he said.
Explaining his position on the UWO, Ndume said that if the newly appointed chairman of EFCC is to work efficiently, a law on unexplained wealth should be enacted.
“It is embedded in the EFCC Act but it is not enough. The law on unexplained wealth should stand alone and be domesticated in our country.
“I really think that the President should sign an executive order to make Bawa work effectively.
“Once the EFCC operatives see anyone flaunting a property or automobile that is beyond his income, they should ask him how and where he made his money. If such a person could not give a sufficient and convincing explanation, the government should confiscate such property.
“Amnesty international has spelt out how unexplained wealth law works, maybe we should adopt it as a nation. If we are serious about fighting corruption in Nigeria, the unexplained wealth law should be enacted, “ Ndume stated.
The politician, who noted that “there are so many luxury houses in choice areas all over the nation’s urban centres owned by people who ordinarily cannot afford to build such mansions based on their income”, said if such owners could not explain, they should forfeit such property to the government.
