President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate, re-presenting the name of Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu for confirmation as a substantive Executive Chairman.

Buhari in a letter to the Senate through the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and read on the floor of the Senate Tuesday, also asked the Senate to make a u- turn on the Secretary to the government of the Federation, Engr. Babachir Lawal.

Buhari in the letter said that he had thoroughly investigated those allegations as contained in the Department of State Security, DSS report against Magu and the interim report of the Senate Ad- hoc Committee and resolutions of the Senate on Secretary to the government of the Federation, Engr Babachir Lawal.

On Magu, Buhari said that he was convinced that the Acting Chairman of EFCC carries out anti-corruption crusade in line with the vision of the administration, just as he requested for his approval in order to sustain the drive.

“Distinguished Senators, in view of my conviction, there is need to maintain momentum of anti-graft fight, while I urge the Senate to reconsider Ibrahim Magu as substantive EFCC Chairman “, President Buhari said.

According to the letter, Buhari maintained that the report on the SGF which was forwarded to him was lacking substance capable of removing the SGF from office.

He argued that only three members of Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Humanitarian Crises in the Northeast signed the report which he said has made it a minority report, just as he said that the report being an interim one should not compel removal of the SGF from office.

"Having gone through the report which emanated from the Senate, I discovered that it was an interim one and particularly only three members out of nine signed the report.”

“Moreso, Babachir Lawal was not invited by the Senate Ad-hoc Committee which is in tandem with the principle of equity and fair hearing.”

Reacting to the letter, Chairman of the Senate Ad- Hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North East, Senator Shehu Sani, APC, Kaduna Central, noted that the presidency lied in the report, describing the letter as a funeral service for the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that the presidency fights corruption in the Senate with insecticide, while within the presidency, corruption is fought with deodorant.

According to him, seven out of the nine members of the Committee signed the interim report contrary to the letter by the President that only three members signed, adding that in the listing of members of the Committee, his name was removed even as chairman of the Committee.

It would be recalled that the Senate had on December 15, 2016, rejected the confirmation of acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu as a substantive chairman of the commission following what the upper chambers described as very damming report from the Department of State Security Service, DSS.

According to the Senate, there was no way Magu could be confirmed because of the security report by the DSS as the report was not favorable for such an exalted position especially during an administration with fight against corruption as its major agenda, just as it asked President Muhammadu Buhari who nominated him to immediately replace him with another name.

Vanguard