The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has advocated psychiatric tests for public office aspirants, ahead of the 2011 general elections.

Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri, made the call yesterday while delivering a keynote address at a workshop on transparency and accountability in the public service.

She said: "Having dealt with many corruption cases, I am inclined to suggest that public officers should be subjected to some form of psychiatric evaluation to determine their suitability for public office.

"The extent of aggrandizement and gluttonous accumulation of wealth that I have observed suggest to me that some people are mentally and psychologically unsuitable for public office. We have observed people amassing public wealth to a point suggesting 'madness' or some form of obsessive- compulsive psychiatric disorder."

"As you may all know the struggle has been on to get the freedom of information (FOI) Bill passed into law? Closely related to this is the bid to have a whistle blower acct passed into law. Let me emphasize that the future of the anti- corruption war may depend on what happens to these efforts.

"If we truly expect a public service that is accountable to people of Nigeria, then the Freedom of Information Bill must be passed. If you deny the public the right to know, the anti- corruption war is lost, "she stated.

While calling for collaboration among the various anti-graft agencies in the country, Waziri said: "When these agencies work together, they are potentially capable of creating an environment which could make corruption a very hazardous affair for a public officer."

She appealed to Nigerians to take ownership of the war against corruption adding that it was only through their active involvement that the nation could be saved from the crushing effect of the menace. "When I launched the Anti-corruption Revolution (ANCHOR), Skeptics thought it was just another Jamboree. But I think the crisis rocking the banking sector has justified our efforts. Were it not for the swift intervention of the central bank and the EFCC, we were surely leading for a crash that would have rubbished our financial system along with your money; your pensions. You cannot afford to be neutral in this war. make it your war," she stated.

The commission also said it has recovered over N103 billion from bank debtors across the country.

She said most of the recovered loans were the ones considered insolvent by the banks.

Waziri said the loans were granted in complete disregard to banking procedures and questioned the rationale for the granting of a N15-billion loan without collateral. "Most of the recovered loans were collected without the intention of paying back at all."Imagine that somebody will collect such large sums without collateral and instead of paying back, they buy houses abroad and open offshore accounts," she said.

She challenged those criticising her for pursuing bad loans instead of executing her mandate to define the boundaries of her job for her. She wondered what could be an economic crime if the refusal to pay bank loans was not.

Waziri was, however, optimistic that the efforts of the present administration against corruption "were at least paying off as Nigeria has leapt from its 147 position by international rating to 121.

She said the feat was accomplished by the strict adherence to the principle of transparency and accountability that was embedded in the concept of the rule of law.

She, therefore called on Nigerians to support anti-corruption agencies in their fight against corruption in the country.