The Prof. Itse Sagay-led Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, on Wednesday, described a proposed bill for the amendment of the establishment Act of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and called on Nigerians and the National Assembly to reject it.
The controversial bill seeks to weaken the EFCC and its officials and confer an enormous power of control of the anti-graft agency on the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. Without mentioning the names of the alleged sponsors of the bill, Sagay described them as the “enemies of Nigeria”.Malami, whose memo to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari , triggered the ongoing probe of the suspended Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, by the Justice Ayo Salami-led panel for various allegations of corruption, abuse of office, and insubordination, has been linked to the controversial bill in the media.
“When in addition to all this, we recall the well-known proclivity of the Attorney-General for enteringin favour of major political and governmental figures, this move to effectively scrap the EFCC becomes more alarming. “The replacement of the Executive Chairman of the EFCC with a Director-General who is effectively to be appointed by the Attorney-General. This eliminates the EFCC’s freedom and autonomy and replaces it with an entity under the complete control of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General.