CDD FACT CHECK: Did Saraki sack Magu?

On April 3, a blog, exclusive103.com on April 3, reported that Senate President Bukola Saraki had sacked Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). The headline read” “the fearless Bukola Saraki refuses to keep shut, sacks Ibrahim Magu as EFCC Chairman, technically.”

The report quoted Saraki saying the EFCC has no substantive chairman because the presidency refused to remove Ibrahim Magu when the senate rejected his nomination.

THE FACTS

Contrary to the headline, in the body of the news, it was reported that Olu Onemola, special assistant on new media, who represented the senate president during the orientation programme for the senators-elect said Buhari’s options pertaining to the rejection of nominees were to lobby the legislature or present someone else as a nominee.

Ibrahim Magu was appointed acting chairman of the EFCC on November 9, 2015, after Ibrahim Lamorde was removed. The senate had on two occasions refused to approve the president’s nomination of Magu as the substantive EFCC chairman, causing a misunderstanding between the presidency and the senate.

According to section 171 of the Nigerian constitution; “Power to appoint persons to hold or act in the offices to which this section applies and to remove persons so appointed from any such office shall vest in the President”.

“The offices to which this section applies are, namely, (a) Secretary to the Government of the Federation; (b) Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; (c)Ambassador, High Commissioner or other Principal Representative of Nigeria abroad; Permanent Secretary in any Ministry or Head of any Extra-Ministerial Department of the Federation howsoever designated; and (e) any office
on the personal staff of the President.”

Whereas, Section 2(3) provides as follows: “The Chairman and members of the Commission other than ex-officio members shall be appointed by the President and appointment shall be subject to the confirmation of the Senate.”

CONCLUSION

The blogs post claiming that the Senate president; Bukola Saraki had sacked Magu is FALSE as facts before us show that constitutionally, the Senate President does not have the power to sack
the EFCC chairman. The Senate President never said such a thing in the first
place and, the body of blog report entirely contradicted the headline.