Forces against the Senate confirmation of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) appear to be unwilling to back down, The Nation can now reveal.
They are even contemplating heading to the courts to ensure that Magu does not get the job. His initial nomination was shot down last December by the Senate citing a security report by the Department of State Security (DSS).
The Senate in a 14-paragraph confidential report Magu had failed the integrity test and that if confirmed, he could constitute a liability to the anti-corruption drive of the administration.
An unperturbed President Muhammadu Buhari represented Magu’s name to the Senate for confirmation only for some governors to join the gang-up to stop Magu.
Sources said their anger with the anti-corruption chief stemmed from EFCC’s probe of the handling of the bailout funds released to 35 states as refunds of deductions on the London-Paris Club loans.
A total of N388.304billion was released to the states mainly to settle arrears of workers’ salaries. A substantial part of the money has ended up in wrong quarters, it was gathered.
About $10million of the amount is believed to have been cornered by a South-south governor who handed it over to his US-based mistress for laundering abroad. The woman however played a fast one on the governor and diverted the money to her own use.
Investigation by The Nation revealed that those involved in the Stop Magu campaign have been holding consultations on a regular basis to ensure that they frustrate the confirmation process.
A source in the Senate said: “They (anti-Magu forces) are even more enraged that the President ignored what they considered to be a damning verdict on Magu by the DSS, and represented his name to the Senate for consideration.
“ Not a few are even angry at the insistence of the presidency to force the choice of Magu on the legislature.”
