Buhari’s aide discloses why top presidential official may not allow new EFCC boss to succeed
- More reactions have continued to trail the appointment of the new EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa
- Prof Itse Sagay, the PACAC chairman, disclosed why Abubakar Malami should not be allowed to interfere with EFCC duties
- The PACAC chairman expressed reservations about Malami's conduct
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Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has said there is a possibility that Abdulrasheed Bawa, the newly-appointed chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may fail in his duties due to undue influence.
Sagay told The Punch in an interview on Wednesday, February 24, that the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, may interfere with the activities of the new EFCC boss.
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The PACAC chairman described Malami as a politician who could hamper the anti-corruption war of the federal government if allowed to control the affairs of the commission.
Sagay said:
“They are not politicians, they are trained security officers. The attorney-general is a politician who has all the weaknesses and loads of a politician. He has people he is obliged to. He has people who are close to him. Some of them may be criminals who might have committed crimes. In fact, some of them may deliberately do things because they think they know the attorney-general.
“So, in such a situation, if Bawa is related to the attorney-general, then there will be a problem because he will not be able to do his job freely because the attorney-general will certainly interfere. He has already indicated his tendency to interfere in both the EFCC and the ICPC with the regulations he purported to make months ago. So, I am not comfortable at all that the possibility that they might be related.”
He argued that Malami’s support for the independence of anti-graft agencies was strongly in doubt.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, February 25, held a closed-door meeting with Abdulrasheed Bawa, the new boss of the (EFCC).
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The meeting is also attended by the minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, Abubakar Malami.
The president's meeting with Bawa came barely 24 hours after he was confirmed as the new anti-corruption czar by the Nigerian Senate.
Kess Ewubare is a senior political/current affairs correspondent at Legit.ng. He has both a BSc and a Master’s degree in mass communication. He has over 10 years of experience in working in several fields of mass communication including radio, TV, newspaper, and online. For Kess, journalism is more than a career, it is a beautiful way of life.
Source: Legit.ng
