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Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, yesterday, said the Senate was yet to receive any formal request from President Muhammadu Buhari for confirmation of the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu.
A statement signed by the Special Assistant (Press) to the President of the Senate, Ezrel Tabiowo said Lawan made the disclosure when a delegation of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) paid a courtesy visit to his office at the National Assembly, Abuja.
In his address, PACAC’s chairman and leader of the delegation, Prof. Itse Sagay, urged the upper chamber to cooperate with the Presidency to ensure that Magu was confirmed as the chairman of the EFCC. Sagay also urged the Senate to consider several anti-corruption bills introduced under the eighth National Assembly.
He equally informed the Senate leadership present at the meeting that the Committee had, on several occasions, received complaints that members of the National Assembly, particularly Chairmen of Committees, solicit monetary compensation for undertaking their oversight functions.
In his response, the Senate President: “Going by our rules, any issue that was not concluded in the lifetime of the eighth National Assembly would have to start all over again.
“As far as we are concerned, those bills would have to come again and go through the process from the very beginning, but we are prepared to begin work on them if they are ready.”
On Magu’s confirmation, he said: “There’s no request before this ninth Senate for the confirmation of the Chairman of the EFCC.
“This is a new Senate, therefore, until there’s a request to this Senate, there’s nothing it can do. I want to assure you that if such a request comes from the President, we will play our part accordingly.”
Reacting to allegation that Committee Chairmen solicit monetary compensation from the MDAs in their oversight duties, he said: “As far as I know, I’m not in receipt of any complaint. If any committee asks for anything from any MDA, that is not appropriate; the law is there to take its full course.
“We believe that no committee or member of the National Assembly will go out of his or her way to ask for anything from anybody before that committee undertakes any oversight.
“The ninth Senate has decided that we will take our oversight very seriously. We believe that it is the best thing to do after we pass the budget in good time.
