A group, The Advocates for New Nigeria (TANN), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ask the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, to leave the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, alone in the nation’s interest.
In a statement by its National President, Abdulrahman Abdul-Aziz, the group said: “Magu’s obviously bitter chase after Saraki is worthy of concern for everyone, who can see the pattern and where it could lead the nation.”
It accused the EFCC boss of pursuing personal grudge against Saraki, saying: “An adage in Yoruba says when you chase after a man unsuccessfully, wisdom presupposes that you cease to chase after such a person and instead, retreat tactically for a review of strategy. Unfortunately, the EFCC is not guided by this age-old wisdom.”
On the latest move against the Senate president, the group queried the commission’s probe into Saraki’s salaries, emoluments and other payments, eight years after he left office as governor between 2003 and 2011.
“Is Saraki the only one who finished within that period? Why single out the man for no reason in the name of investigation?
“This is particularly curious when, indeed, there are governors, who just finished from office a few months ago, with a legion of petitions already in their trail. The EFCC chairman has descended fully into the arena and this is worrisome because a critical national institution is being subjected to personal use and victimisation of both perceived and real enemies.
“If Magu is bitter about his non-confirmation as EFCC chair by the Senate, he knows where to direct his negative energy to – the Department of State Services (DSS) – which wrote two different reports at two different times, asking the Senate not to confirm Magu.
“We are not surprised that in almost three years in that office, his is not a success story, but an era strewn with scandals, ineptitude, disappointments, crass inability to properly understand his brief and generally a disaster-in-waiting,” the group said.
Meanwhile, EFCC has in riposte pontificated that the commission has the constitutional right to investigate whoever it wants.
EFCC dismissed the notion that the commission wants to witch-hunt Saraki intentionally.
“Don’t be afraid if you’ve nothing to hide. EFCC has taken note of the reactions of the Senate president to the commission’s inquiries regarding his earnings as Kwara State governor as well as on the quality of his financial stewardship in the Senate.
“While it is his prerogative to ventilate his views on the matter as he deems fit, the commission takes great exception at the desperate attempt to cast a slur on its investigative activities by portraying Saraki as a victim of persecution.
“Furthermore, the agency finds the attempt by the Senate president to tie our inquest to his International Human Rights Commission appointment and his approaching life out of power as misleading, knowing too well that the background to our current inquiries reaches several years back,” the commission said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the EFCC is obligated by law to enthrone probity and accountability in the governance space and has supremely pursued this duty without ill-will or malice against anyone,” the commission said.