MURIC: Senate won’t confirm Magu because it has skeletons in its cupboard

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) says the senate has refused to confirm Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) because it has “skeletons in its cupboard”.

On Wednesday, the red chamber rejected Magu’s confirmation, for the second time in three months.

Reacting in a statement on Saturday, the association’s director, Ishaq Akintola, MURIC said the senate’s fear of Magu will not let it confirm him.

“Senate has shown that it is not fighting corruption. On the contrary, it is fighting for corruption by rejecting a firebrand anti-graft boss, it has exposed itself as an institution with skeletons in its cupboard,” the statement read.

MURIC said that Godswill Akpabio, a representative of Akwa Ibom north-west, had allegedly said: ‘Magu wants us to confirm him so he can use some of us for peppersoup’.

“Akpabio’s alleged utterance confirms our worst fears. This senate will not confirm any EFCC boss who refuses to withdraw cases involving its members. This Senate will not confirm any anti-graft boss who is not ready to treat senators as sacred cows even if they are corrupt.

“Our suspicion has been confirmed by senator Akpabio. Now we know why senate rejected Magu. It is simply because our senators hands are not clean so they fear a no-nonsense anti-graft boss.”

MURIC said that it was not disappointed by the decision to frustrate Magu’s confirmation, saying that the “senate has demonstrated its readiness to kill EFCC and any other anti-corruption agency that has the temerity to investigate its members.

“The issue is not even Magu this time around. We also entertain the fear that these senators will not allow any other EFCC boss to function effectively even if Magu is removed.

“Senate does not want any agency investigating fraud anywhere around the red chamber. Senate wants its members to be untouchable.

“The first rejection of Magu was meant to serve as a yellow card from the senators and the message was clear, “Back off or we will never confirm you.

“The excuse used by Senate to deny Magu that confirmation is neither here nor there. Somebody somewhere is playing Jekyll and Hyde.”

The association called on Nigerians to resist the alleged corrupt practices of members of the senate by voting them out in the next election.

“Nigerians should reject this crop of senators at the next general election. With the exception of a few senators, we are constrained to conclude that these are not the true representatives of the people.

Akintola said for the war against corruption to be thorough, MURIC suggests that anyone facing corruption trial should not be allowed to contest in elections.

“Should they use technicalities to wriggle through and become candidates, the Nigerian electorate should also reject them at the
polls,” he said.

MURIC urged the civil society, the media, international community and religious leaders to speak out and ensure that the “senate tow the path of transparency, probity and accountability”.

“We appeal to the international community to turn its searchlight on the Nigerian senate and note how its members are frustrating the executive in its war against corruption.”