Despite Rejecting His Appointment Twice, Senate President Bukola Saraki Tells Ibrahim Magu ”We’re Together In The War Against Corruption

Senate President Bukola Saraki has assured the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, that he is with him in the fight against corruption.

Saraki’s assurance comes after the Senate under his leadership rejected Magu’s appointment as the chairman of the antigraft agency on two occasions.

Saraki gave the assurance when he had a tour of the new headquarters of the commission in Jabi, Abuja yesterday May 8th.

“If we are going to build a better society in our country, one of the main things we must tackle is the issue of corruption and how we can do that is by strengthening these institutions. My presence here is to say that whatever we do in our job, the most important thing is that we all represent institutions and we must work and see that it is in the interest of the country.

So my presence here is, after a building like this where the national assembly has played a great role, it must be my responsibility to see how the money was spent and I can see that that has been done properly and we should continue to work together to see that that goes well for the entire country.

If you look at most projects in Abuja, I don’t think any project like this has been well-funded and that shows that despite all the noise you will hear, the national assembly has supported where it matters because this is where it matters and I think we have done that.

If you look at what has been achieved in the last two and half years in putting this building up and bringing it to completion, I think it is a remarkable achievement. I have a responsibility and a role as the head of the legislature.

I have responsibility and my responsibility is beyond whatever issues. We might disagree on what those right things are but at the end of the, we must ensure that we build institutions, we support institutions and do what is right and we must continue to do that” he said

The Senate in December 2016 and March 2017 rejected Magu’s appointment, asking the presidency to change him. This has led to a faceoff between the Senate and the executive. The presidency has however maintained it would not be changing Magu.