There seems to be no end in sight in the face-off between the Senate and the presidency as the chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sabi Abdullahi, on Friday said the Senate’s rejection of the nomination of Ibrahim Magu as chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, “still stands”.
He made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Abdullahi was reacting to a statement credited to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo that Magu would remain as EFCC chairman under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
He insisted, while being represented at the inauguration of EFCC office in Kaduna on Thursday by Gov. Nasir el-Rufai, that the Presidency had resolved to work with Magu to stamp out corruption in the country.
However, Abdullahi countered what Osinbajo said insisting that, “the Senate has already made its resolution, and our resolutions are official statements.
“And most times, based on how we communicate, we don’t go to press immediately because somebody has made a statement; we usually discuss issues.
“You know before we made that resolution the issue was debated. It is not because the executive has said something, we will react to it. We discuss issues first.
“That is what makes up an institution. Nobody in the Senate is expressing his individual opinion. We are expressing the opinion of the Senate, its stand and its position.
“We have given it a resolution. For now that is what subsists, and until we get a response, otherwise officially, we are not going back.”
The lawmaker called on all arms of government to respect the rule of law for the deepening of the democracy in the country.
“Let us work in the interest of Nigerians. We have made a point, a point which is clear.
“He was brought to us for confirmation, and on the basis of damning reports from the DSS, we rejected him twice. It is left for Nigerians to see and we have done our part,” he said.
(NAN)
