By Baron Ike
The Senate on Thursday, December 15 turned down the request of the Presidency for the confirmation of the appointment of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu.
Magu’s screening was deferred last week to Thursday, without the Upper Legislative Chambers not giving real reason for the postponement.
The senators said they could not okay President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Magu based on security report available to them.
The spokesperson for the upper legislative chamber, Aliyu Abdullahi, said Thursday afternoon after the Senators emerged from a closed-door meeting where Magu’s confirmation was discussed.
Abdullahi said:“The Senate wishes to inform the public that based on available security report, the Senate cannot proceed with the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
“The nomination of Ibrahim Magu is hereby rejected and has been returned to the President for further action.”
Magu has been acting as EFCC Chairman in the past one year, with many people including the Civil Society community calling for his confirmation following the Presidency’s request since July to the Senate to confirm him.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo nominated Magu through a letter he signed in his capacity as acting president when Buhari travelled abroad for medical treatment mid this year. But the senate failed to act immediately on the letter.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, read the vice-president’s letter on July 14.
Indication that the senators were not out to confirm Magu started emerging following the repeated failure in the schedule for his confirmation.
But due to widespread pressure from Nigerians, the senate fixed Thursday, December 8 for the session, a meeting that also failed to hold before it was then rescheduled for Thursday, December 15.
Armadanews learnt that there was a damning report on Magu by the Department of State Security (DSS), perhaps orchestrated by interested politicians to cut him to size.
Commenting on the development, an aide to the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwaal, Imam Imam, blamed it all on the failure of Magu to engage lobbyists.
He wrote on his Facebook wall: “I will not go into the propriety or otherwise of Senate’s decision to reject Ibrahim Magu, President Buhari’s nominee for the office of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“What I am concerned about is the lackadaisical approach many nominees give to the issue of lobbying lawmakers to confirm them for whatever position they may have been selected for by the Executive.
“According to Wikipedia, Lobbying (also lobby) is the act of attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of officials in a government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by many types of people, associations and organized groups, including individuals in the private sector, corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or advocacy groups (interest groups).
“In all advanced democracies, position of lobbyists is assured. It’s a paid activity in which special interests hire professional advocates to argue for specific legislation (or appointment) in decision-making bodies such as the National Assembly.
“I don’t know if Magu had contacted any lobbyist to make case for him before the Senators, but what is apparent is that if there was any issue the lawmakers had against him, it would have been known, and possibly sorted out, if there was initial contact with them before a decision on his appointment was taken.
“Some people may find the very notion that you need a lobbyist to be confirmed to do a saintly job (like Magu’s) repulsive, but the truth is that parliamentary traditions encourage such engagements.
“In the United States, congressmen and senators are lobbied to pass laws or confirm appointments. Even confirmation of Supreme Court justices is subject to influence of lobbyists.
“While we don’t have specific laws guiding the work of lobbyists in Nigeria, I know many former parliamentarians who make overture to serving lawmakers with a plea to confirm some appointments.
“So next time the President nominates you for any position that requires National Assembly’s approval, get a lobbyist to press the right button and legally push your case through the backdoor.”