Melaye: Buhari CANNOT nominate Magu again

Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi west, has said Ibrahim Magu is not the only competent Nigerian that can head the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He said Magu cannot continue acting as the chairman of the EFCC after being rejected by the senate twice.

On Wednesday, the senate rejected Magu’s nomination as the substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency.

This was sequel to a report from the Department of State Services (DSS) which said Magu had “failed integrity test” and “will constitute a liability” of the anti-corruption war of the Buhari administration.

In a statement on Saturday, Melaye said those suggesting to President Muhammadu Buhari that Magu could continue his capacity as EFCC chairman were only recommending a violation of the law.

He said when Magu appeared before the senate, he did not impress the senators “who would have been sympathetic to his cause during the confirmation hearing”.

The lawmaker urged Buhari to look for a replacement and avoid actions that may result in violation of the laws of the land.

“Those suggesting to the President that after failing to scale the confirmation process twice, the President should leave Magu to be acting are only recommending violation of the law, disrespect for due process and perpetration of illegality. All these will only undermine democracy and constitutionalism in our country,” the statement by Melaye read.

“Those drafters of the law who made the provision that the Senate should confirm the nomination of the EFCC chairman did not make any mistake and nobody should observe the law in the breach by getting a person into that office who has not been confirmed. Magu is not greater than the law creating EFCC.

“Magu is not the last messiah. He can’t be the only competent person for the job out of 170 million Nigerians. Should he voluntarily decline the appointment today, will EFCC fold up?”