His first nomination for affirmation was dismissed in December 15, 2016 over an accursing status report sent to the Senate by the Department of State Services (DSS).After around two hours of extreme scrutinizing, the Senate yesterday dismisses the second selection of Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This second dismissal may back off the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari while he is hunting down a substitution for Magu. In addition, it might prompt to a cold connection between the executive and legislative arms of government that could ruin great governance.
In addition, the DSS’ resistance to his affirmation focuses to a break in the Presidency as beforehand announced. Magu’s corroborative hearing at the Senate was portrayed by a progression of arraigning questions that set the disposition of the day.
An endeavor by former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, to restrict the systems embraced to screen and disqualify Magu was quickly overruled by Senate President Bukola Saraki.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who tossed the main question was exceptionally downright about the requirement for the acting EFCC boss to give definite clarifications on the DSS report which had noticed his claimed degenerate works on, including paying a rent of N20 million for per annum.
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| Acting EFCC Boss, Magu |
Yet, Magu attempted to avoid noting the question as he told the officials that he would not have any desire to waste a sister security organization. Not even the request of Saraki that Magu ought to answer the question influenced the EFCC boss. Obscure to Magu, the question on the DSS report was returning an all the more condemning structure.
In any case, before the matter was re-presented, Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna central) had reminded the nominee that it was the ‘Ides of March” and even pray to God for him.
Sani stated: “Today is the Ides of March, an extremely important day in the historical backdrop of Roman Empire when Julius Caesar was executed when he went to the Senate. Along these lines, may the Lord be with you.”
Re-presenting the DSS report, Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West) all of a sudden rose and drew the attention of Magu to a moment report which he said was gotten by the Senate on Tuesday evening.
Melaye said: “I have before me two reports from the DSS, one addressed to the Senate in October and the second one written to this chamber and was received by the office of the Clerk of the Senate at 5:02p.m. just yesterday.
“Magu, nominee for the position of the chairmanship of the EFCC, having gone through these reports, the first report indicted you but because of the letter from Mr. President you are here again.
“Just yesterday this report was received from the DSS, paragraph 14 of the report reads thus: ‘In the light of the foregoing, Magu has failed the integrity test and will eventually constitute a liability to the anti-corruption drive of the present administration.’ “
Melaye proceed: “The DSS is to us what the FBI and CIA are to the U.S. and we cannot ridicule, we cannot undermine and we cannot put in abeyance the report of the DSS. Anyone who wants to be chairman of EFCC must have the character and characteristics of the wife of Caeser, you must be unblemished, you must be pure, you must be stainless.”
Melaye unveiled that there was a situation where EFCC agents attacked a specific house and a few Certificates of Occupancy (Cs of Os) taken and those Cs of O were later found in the market. He said the police had investigated and two of the documents had been come back to the owner.
“Do you still think, after this report and as a result of what has happened to the Cs of O of an innocent Nigerian, you are still qualified to be the chairman of EFCC or we take you to Golgotha?”
Magu answered that he was hearing the assertion surprisingly. “It is not everything that is done in the EFCC I have knowledge of, the EFCC is too big. If not now, I didn’t know there was a case pending against EFCC staff in a police station. I will now go back and investigate it and give you a feedback.”
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| Senate President, Bukola Saraki |
In a comment after the screening, Saraki stated: “Let me first of all thank all of you on your contributions to this matter and the way the matter was carried in an open and transparent manner. What we are seeing here is democracy at work. I believe that what we have done on our own part, was to follow the constitution and due process. And we hope that the Executive will quickly act and bring in a new name as soon as possible so that the activities of the agency are not deterred.”
In the mean time, if an amendment of the Act established the EFCC in the end cruises through at the National Assembly, the impact of President Buhari on the issues of the anti-graft agency will be whittled radically.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives made a critical stride towards accomplishing this objective as four solidified bills proposing a progression of amendments to the EFCC Act passed the second reading at the plenary presided over by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.
The enactment entitled: “A Bill for an Act to amend the EFCC Act, Cap E1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004” is to provide for quick recovery procedures for stolen assets, implement active pursuit of cases, build capacity and improve trust and cooperation with foreign counterparts, ensure adequate funding of the commission and establish the EFCC court.”
The amendment which is likewise to make the commission more autonomous and successful is by and large mutually supported by Bede Uchenna Eke, Bassey Ewa, Oladipupo Adebutu and Kolade Oladele.
The new law will endorse a stiffer punishment of 20 years for any individual who commits financial or economic crime, make more stringent methods for removing members and chairman individuals of the EFCC board and set up a benefit reallocation and recuperation unit and in addition a budgetary examination and insight unit.
©World Top News Ng
