President Muhammadu Buhari, has taken a final position on whether to re-nominate the embattled Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, or pick a fresh candidate for the job, a top source in the Presidency has hinted.
The source also said that the President may have specifically decided that appointees indicted or tainted with allegations of graft, “would be shown the door, and it will be sooner than later.”
The top official insisted: “Buhari will shock Nigerians who think he cannot act on graft allegations against some of his appointees. He is only being fair, since some of them are being investigated on those allegations, and reports are being awaited… But the President will drop some next year; that is for sure.”
It was also gathered, that the President has picked a former Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG, who was in charge of Operations (B) Department, as a replacement for Magu.
Recall, that the Senate rejected Magu’s nomination on December 20, 2016, after Lawmakers met in an Executive Session, to consider a security report by the Department of State Services, DSS, which indicted the EFCC boss.
Thereafter, Senate Spokesman, Abdullahi Sabi, said Magu’s rejection was based on a ‘worrisome’ security report, made available to the Lawmakers by the DSS.
Sabi said: “The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, wishes to inform the general public, that based on security reports available to the Lawmakers, we could not proceed and confirm the nomination of Ibrahim Magu, as the Executive Chairman of EFCC.
“Accordingly, Senate, hereby, rejects the said nomination, and has returned the said nomination to Mr. President for further action. There is no confusion here. We have said it is based on security reports.
“Please, all public officers go for security screening, and we are saying based on security reports, we cannot proceed and confirm. We are rejecting it, and returning it to Mr. President for further actions. That is just the statement. It is as simple as that.
“That is exactly what Senate has said, and I do not have any other explanation more than this,” he said.
The report from the DSS, showed that Magu was allegedly involved in the disposal of seized assets from convicted corrupt public officials, when immediate-past Chairman of
EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, held sway.
The report also questioned Magu’s integrity to lead President Buhari’s anti-corruption war. Furthermore, the report said the EFCC under Magu’s watch, is involved in human rights abuses.
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