(Ecofin Agency) - The Nigerian Senate has expressed concerns that the recent suspension of Nigeria’s Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) from the Egmont Group will affect the country’s economy.

This they expressed at a plenary on Wednesday.

NFIU, an agency set up by the government to represent the country, was suspended from the Egmont Group at a meeting in China in July, this year. This was due to the Federal Government’s inability to separate NFIU from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

The global body also cited the interference of the anti-graft agency in the affairs of NFIU, and the disclosure of confidential information about the group to the media, as the reasons behind the suspension. Egmont, however, threatened to expel Nigeria by January 2018, if its demand for a legal framework granting autonomy to the intelligence unit is not met. Consequently, the development will hinder the country’s ability to recover stolen funds abroad and also restrict its access to international transactions.

Worried about the economic implication of the suspension, the Senate ordered its Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes to submit a draft bill establishing NFIU as an independent and autonomous body, within four weeks. According to Senate President, Bukola Saraki (photo), the suspension is a setback in the present administration’s fight against corruption. “One of the things that we need to do, is to ensure that we pass this bill as soon as possible and any of the other activities that must have led to this must be stopped. And the Committee on Anti-Corruption should carry out their oversight to ensure that the sooner we get the suspension lifted, the better for our image and the fight against corruption.”

The Egmont Group is the highest inter-governmental association of intelligence agencies in the world, with 154 member countries. It supports its members in monitoring international money laundering activities. Nigeria joined the group in 2007 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

Anita Fatunji