According
to him “The endorsement by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo of the continuous
stay of Ibrahim Magu as EFCC chairman was not a collective decision.
The Nigerian Senate had twice rejected Mr. Magu’s
nomination as EFCC chairman, officially basing their decisions on a report
compiled by the State Security Service, SSS, accusing Mr. Magu of impropriety;
although many Nigerians believe the non-confirmation was because many of the
senators are being investigated or prosecuted by the EFCC.
Earlier on Tuesday, the upper legislative
chamber criticised Mr. Osinbajo for allegedly questioning their constitutional
authority to confirm the nomination of appointees by the executive arm.
Senators also expressed concern about the refusal of
the Executive to drop Mr. Magu as the acting chairman of the EFCC.
Mr. Osinbajo had in April while speaking with
journalists and activists said Mr. Magu enjoys his confidence, and that of
President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I’m fully in support of Magu as the EFCC Chairman
just as the president is…”
Mr. Osinbajo said.
Speaking on the Senate rejection, Mr. Osinbajo said
“it is up to the Senate to make their judgement. If our candidate is rejected, …,
we can represent our candidate.”
When asked for
comments by State House correspondents after the FEC meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Malami said Mr. Osinbajo’s
stance was a personal decision never discussed at FEC.
“The fundamental consideration about the alleged
statement is the factthat at no point ever did the Federal Executive Council
sit down to arrive at the decision in one-way or the other as far as the
issue of nomination or otherwise is concerned.
“So, I do not think it constitutes an issue for the
Federal Executive Council to make any clarification about because it has never
been considered by the FEC,” he said.
Mr. Malami, Nigeria’s chief law officer, has been in
the eye of the storm over his role in and dedication to the anti-corruption
fight of the Buhari administration. Last month, an anti-corruption adviser to
President Buhari accused Mr. Malami of not being committed to the
anti-corruption war, a major promise of the president during campaign. Mr.
Malami, who is believed to be opposed to Mr. Magu as EFCC chairman, denied
the allegation
The Acting President’s office is yet to react to Mr.
Malami’s claim. However, a presidency source confided in PREMIUM TIMES that
what Mr. Malami said was true.
“(Keeping Magu despite Senate rejection) was a
decision reached between the president and his vice to sustain the
anti-corruption war. I think they never took it to FEC,” the source said.
BUHARI’S
SPOKESPERSON REACTS
Speaking on the stance of the AGF and the Acting
President, President Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu said, “Our
understanding is that some remarks made by the Acting President some months ago
when he was the Vice President, because the President was around at that time,
an opinion he gave is being misconstrued.
“A senior lawyer in the country offered an opinion,
in which he said some categories of public officers traditionally cleared by
the National Assembly need not to go through that process, that those ones can
be appointed by the Presidential fiat; they don’t have to go through screening.
But several months ago, in his position as Vice President, Professor Osinbajo
gave a personal opinion saying what this lawyer said makes sense,” Mr.
Shehu explained, making reference to Mr. Osinbajo’s support of the stance of
human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, on the matter.
“I fully agree with Mr. (Femi) Falana that there was
no need in the first place to have presented Mr. Magu for confirmation,” Mr.
Osinbajo had said, making reference to the Section 171 of the constitution.
Mr. Shehu confirmed that the government and indeed
the FEC had not taken any decision on such an issue.
“There is no
official position by the government of Nigeria, and the Federal Executive
Council never sat down to take a decision to say that some categories of
officials will not be sent to the National Assembly any longer or that the
authority of the Senate under the constitution to screen and pass nominees has
never been questioned by the government or the Federal Executive
Council,” he said.
“From
the time the Vice President gave that opinion to now, more than 20 nominations
have been forwarded to the Senate and quite a number of them have been
screened, sworn-in and are now occupying positions so therefore; this is not a
big issue as some people want to make it,” he said.
The
presidential aide said all parties involved in the matter would soon meet to
resolve it.
“The party, government and the National Assembly
will sit on a round table and this matter will be discussed and resolved. I
assure you,” he said.
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