The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has charged the management of Guinness Plc on the need to ensure compliance with rules and regulations in the course of doing business in the country.
He gave the charge on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in his remarks while receiving the management team of the company, led by its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Girish Sharma, in his office.
“I want to thank you for what you stand for. I heard your director talking about compliance. That’s one of the things you must hold very dear to your heart if you don’t want to have any problems. I keep telling people that it’s cheaper for you to comply than not to. Whatever you think you are saving by not complying, you will lose over time. It’s never too expensive to comply. The cost you put into compliance is never lost. So, I want you to continue to sustain that decision, which is good for business. Once you are compliant, we will work together,” he said.
He expressed delight with the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, stating that they demonstrated the company’s emphasis not just on growing its bottom line, but also on giving back to society.
“In respect of your CSR, I would also like to thank you for giving back to the society that has given you so much value. One thing that I promised before assuming office was to use the instrumentality of this work to stimulate the economy, and one of the ways is to work with corporate bodies like yours,” he said.
Olukoyede observed that, in addition to the Commission’s investigation and prosecution duties, it also has a mandate to prevent financial crimes from occurring. He stated that the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control works with ministries, departments and agencies, as well as the private sector, to assess risk factors in their operations and determine appropriate controls.
In addition, he stressed that the Commission regularly “looks at tax records and makes sure that organisations observe their financial responsibilities to the government; make sure that you file your tax returns because failure to pay tax is a crime, failure to pay the actual amount you are supposed to pay is also a crime, and failure to file your tax returns on time is a crime too. So, we no longer wait for people to commit crimes; we work with them to prevent the commission of crimes.”
In his remarks, Sharma reiterated Guinness Plc’s strong faith in the Nigerian economy, a commitment he noted has endured for 76 years.
“As we all know, the past few years have been pretty turbulent for Nigeria, and we have seen a lot of companies exiting Nigeria. The good news is that Guinness Nigeria has remained in Nigeria for 76 years,” he said.
While making a presentation on the activities of Guinness Nigeria in the areas of CSR, company core values and product portfolio, Rotimi Odusola, Corporate Relations/Legal Director of the company, reaffirmed the company’s resolve to always comply with regulations in the country.
He stated that Guinness Nigeria Plc was very proud of its association with Nigeria, adding that “One other thing that we are proud of as a company is that we do business the right way. We believe that there is no right way to do the wrong thing. Therefore, it is extremely important to us as an organisation that compliance with rules, regulations and laws remains at the core of how we conduct our business,” he said.
Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
May 12, 2026