I Haven't Met, Spoken With The EFCC Chairman In Over 7 Months - Itse Sagay Says

 

There were indications on Sunday that the anti-cor­ruption war being waged by President Muhammadu Bu­hari’s administration may have suffered a major setback following revelation by Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corrup­tion (PACAC), that he had neither met nor spoken with Ibrahim Umar, the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Com­mission (EFCC), since his appointment in July 2020.

PACAC became set up in August 2015 with the mandate to promote the reform agen­da of the authorities on the anti-corruption attempt, and to advise the existing adminis­tration in the prosecution of the battle towards corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s crook justice gadget.

The committee enjoyed a harmonious operating rela­tionship with Ibrahim Magu, the previous EFCC Acting Chairman or even recom­mended him for confirma­tion as sizeable chairman of the commission on several events.

Even when Magu changed into re­jected twice with the aid of the 8th Senate, Sagay had recommended President Buhari no longer to replace him, pronouncing he should function act­ing chairman indefinitely. Magu changed into later suspended by President Buhari and changed into changed through Umar who, till his appointment, become the an­ti-corruption corporation’s Head of Operations.

Speaking with Daily Inde­pendent, Sagay stated he had neither met nor spoken with Umar since his appointment over seven months ago, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a major barrier.

When asked about the re­lationship between his com­mittee and the performing EFCC chairman given that his rent­ment, Sagay said: “Unfor­tunately, his appointment coincided with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. So, I have not been to Abuja for a year. So, I actually have no longer met the performing EFCC chairman and we have by no means spoken togeth­er.

“But we've made some arrangements; we organized a programme with the heads of the numerous anti-corruption companies to be gift and we are able to have some dialogue on how they should cooperate with each different and deliver applicable information to each different and returned up each other in any investigation or execs­ecution.

“We had arranged all that however alas, COVID-19 made us postpone it. If we had made it virtual, it would now not be as a success as while we are all collectively. So, because of that I even have now not met him.”

Also speakme on the re­quest by way of the president asking the Senate to verify Abdul­rasheed Bawa as considerable chairman of the EFCC, Sagay stated no person ought to question the president’s selection to ap­point whomever he wants to head the commission.

“If he has sent every other name to the Senate for confir­mation, the implication is that he has dropped Magu. On the declare by using his law­yer that justice changed into no longer served in Magu’s case, that would be proper".

“The complete factor is under some cloud somehow. That is the manner I see it. I am now not even glad approximately the situation but, nicely, one has to accept things like that. The president has the pre­rogative to ahead the call of whomever he goals. I don’t think that can be ques­tioned. You can question his judg­ment but you cannot query his proper to appoint whomev­er he wants to head the com­venture.”

However, speaking with our correspondent, a few Nigerians consider all is not well with the anti-graft war, questioning how COVID-19 may want to have confined communi­cation among the groups worried in the fight towards corruption.

Monday Ubani, former Second Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), stated given the impor­tance of both our bodies inside the fight towards corruption, the truth that Sagay and Umar had no longer communicated in the last seven months confirmed that some thing turned into essential­ly wrong.

“If COVID-19 makes physi­cal touch impossible, we're now in an technology where commu­nication is being performed thru technology and there are such a lot of gadgets now that you'll use to get in contact with each other no matter wherein you're within the world.

“So, it's far very odd that there was no communi­cation inside the mild of his position and the significance of his employer within the fight in opposition to corruption.

“If the performing EFCC chair­guy isn't in contact with the man that heads the presiden­tial advisory committee on corruption, then it's miles really obvious that some thing is fundamentally wrong.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the situa­tion has further confirmed its declare that there is a crumble of governance inside the united states. ­

Kola Ologbondiyan, the celebration’s National Publicity Secretary, said: “We have al­approaches maintained that gover­nance has broken down beneath the APC. There is a total fall apart of presidency with nobody in charge. So, Prof. Sagay’s declaration did no longer come to us as a surprise.”

Also talking, Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-polit­ical business enterprise, said Ni­gerians might be deceiving themselves to believe that the anti-corruption war was being fought through the prevailing administration.
Yinka Odumakin, the business enterprise’s National Publicity Secretary, stated the anti-corruption war had col­lapsed definitely.

“It is clear that the an­ti-corruption war has collapsed definitely. There is not anything occurring referred to as an­ti-corruption warfare, it is just deception. No surprise, they have simply picked a person this is allegedly facing a robbery price as the new chairman of the EFCC. We will be deceiving ourselves if we believe that there may be any serious anti-cor­ruption battle taking place on this administration.”