We’ll remove Nigeria from FATF’s grey list, Gbajabiamila assures

The Presidency will take concrete steps to remove Nigeria from the grey list of the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF), before the May 2025 deadline.

Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President, gave the assurance during a fact-finding visit to the office of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in Abuja on Tuesday.

Gbajabiamila pledged that the Federal Government would address the deficiencies that led to Nigeria’s listing.

He made the pledge in response to a request by Hafsat Bakari, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of NFIU, who sought high-level intervention to meet the implementation deadline of the FATF action plan.

L-R From left: Mrs Oyinade Nathan-Marsh Senior Special Assistant to the President, Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff); Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President; Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, Director/CEO Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, and Engr Olufunso Adebiyi, Permanent Secretary, State House, and other management staff of NFIU and State House, during the visit of the Chief of Staff to NFIU office in Abuja on Tuesday

It was reported that on Feb. 24, 2023, Nigeria was placed on the FATF Grey List.

This was due to rising capital inflows and shortcomings in combating money laundering, terrorism and arms financing.

The FATF is an independent intergovernmental organisation that promotes policies to protect the global financial system.

It evaluates jurisdictions based on its Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (AML/CFT/P) standards.

Gbajabiamila acknowledged the progress made by NFIU by implementing 30 per cent of the action plan to address identified deficiencies.

He stressed the need for accelerated efforts to complete the remaining tasks.

“I am a firm believer that no matter how much you achieve, one thing can destroy everything you have achieved. One rotten egg can spoil the whole basket.

“We have nine months left to exit the Grey List, and even being on that list is bad enough – that is not what we want for our country.

“Therefore, we will do everything we need to do because May 2025 is around the corner.

“You must furnish us with the information and the boxes that we need to tick. We do not want a fire brigade approach because May is around the corner; this is a high priority,” he said.

Gbajabiamila also assured the management of NFIU of continued collaboration with his office to enable it protect Nigeria’s financial system from terrorism financing, money laundering, arms proliferation and other violent crimes.

The NFIU operates under the supervision of State House.

“I know there’s much to be done and we are here to collaborate with you to ensure that ultimately we can get to where we are supposed to be,” he said.

The Chief of Staff also commended the agency for implementing the recent Supreme Court interpretation on local government autonomy.

Highlighting NFIU’s achievements, Bakari noted that the agency had fostered inter-agency cooperation, connecting over 45 agencies to its intelligence sharing platform.

She said 18 state internal revenue services had been connected to boost domestic revenue mobilisation in sub-national governments.

“One of the key projects we have commenced is the implementation of a monetary network framework following the recent Supreme Court judgment on the fiscal autonomy of local governments.

“This would enable the government to ensure that resources made available have an impact on the citizens,” Bakari stated.

The NFIU boss pointed out that NFIU had deployed significant human and financial resources to address identified deficiencies.

“Capacity building is essential to stay ahead of evolving methods and typologies of financial crime,” she said.

Gbajabiamila also visited Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the National Council on Climate Change (NATCCC) as part of his ongoing engagements with agencies under the supervision of State House.