The fate of the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Mustapha Magu, for the position of the substantive chairman of the anti-graft commission will today be decided by the Senate.
The Red Chamber had last week Thursday, December 8, 2016 re-scheduled the confirmation hearing of Magu for today over what it described as poor attendance of Senators at plenary, majority of whom have indicated interest to be part of the screening exercise.
Recall that the Senate had last week Wednesday through the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, announced that Magu will face the Senators the next day but the exercise couldn’t hold as planned.
Magu and other member-nominees of the commission, who had turned up for their screening were turned back after waiting for some hours, a development the Senate attributed non-availability of majority of Senators.
“We said it is now even more convenient on Wednesday, the President is going to present the 2017 budget before the National Assembly and the assumption is that more than 80 per cent of the Senators will be in attendance on that day.
“If 80 per cent of the Senators are there and they are aware that the confirmation hearing is next day, which is Thursday, it means that the idea of somebody going to say that the leadership of the Senate has shut him from asking the question he wants to ask will not be there. We agreed at the leadership meeting that let us put it against Thursday,” Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah had told journalists.