The Senate have been urged by anti-corruption groups in the country to expedite action on the screening and confirmation of acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu.
The groups made the call in a communique issued yesterday in Abuja at the end of its National Conference on the ‘Role of the Legislature in the Fight Against Corruption’, organised by the National Assembly and the Presidency.
The groups noted that prior to the process leading to the confirmation of Magu, the National Assembly went on recess saying, “interestingly, the Senate has since reconvened, screened and confirmed justices of Supreme Court and board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) forwarded to it long after the submission of Mr. Magu’s name for confirmation as EFCC’s chairman by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
The groups believe that Magu, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, meets the requirements as contained in the EFCC Act.
The communique was jointly signed by Debo Adeniran of the Coalition Againts Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) and Olanrewaju Suraju of Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC) among others.
They contended that the security of tenure for the leadership of the anti-corruption agencies saddled with the task of tackling the debilitating effects of corruption, is a globally recognized principle for guaranteeing the independence of anti-corruption agencies.
“This delay by the Senate sends a wrong signal of deliberate attempt to frustrate the anti-corruption fight or at best, exert political pressure on the EFCC and force it into some compromise with the Senate,” the groups said.
