President Muhammadu Buhari will present Ibrahim Magu, the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Senate for another attempt at confirmation. This will be after the resumption of the Senate from their recess.
Magu wants to be the substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency after nearly four years of acting in that capacity.
A presidency source who does not want his name in print disclosed this to our correspondent on Thursday.
Efforts by President Buhari to get Magu confirmed by the 8th Senate led by Bukola Saraki, immediate past Senate President, were rebuffed by the lawmakers who rejected him twice, citing reports written against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Magu took charge of the EFCC in an acting capacity following the expiration of the tenure of his former boss, Ibrahim Lamorde, in November 2015.
He had presided over the affairs of the commission for eight months before Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made the nomination to the Senate on July 22, 2016, when he (Osinbajo) was acting president.
However, the Senate, on December 15, 2016, declined to confirm Magu based on a DSS status report which discredited his capability to carry out his duties creditably. The DSS also accused Magu of being corrupt, an accusation the acting EFCC boss rejected.
Determined to get Magu confirmed, President Buhari again presented Magu before the Senate in March 2017 but he was rejected by the majority of the senators present at the plenary after it was put to a vote.
His rejection followed the receipt of another letter from the DSS which stated that he (Magu) would be “a liability to the anti-corruption fight of the present administration” if confirmed.
When asked to replace Magu with another qualified candidate, Osinbajo had said Magu would not be replaced. He said the president did not find the security report prepared by the DSS, which was the basis of his rejection, a strong reason to replace him.
