There appears to be grumbling among operatives at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over who takes over from the suspended acting Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Magu.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Friday approved the suspension of the embattled acting Chairmanwho has been facing the Presidential probe panel sitting at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, since Monday over corruption allegation.
President Buhari had in a statement issued by, Dr Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF and Minister of Justice given the approval for Magu to step aside as he is being investigated.
The statement reads in part, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate suspension of Ibrahim Magu as Ag. Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in order to allow for an unhindered inquiry by the Presidential Investigation Panel under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act and other relevant laws.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has also approved that the EFCC Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar, should take charge and oversee the activities of the Commission pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and further directives in that regards.”
Recall that security operatives had stormed the EFCC headquarters on Monday to effect the arrest of the suspended anti-corruption boss and he was taken to the State House Conference Hall otherwise known as Old Banquet Hall, for grilling over the 21 allegations bordering on corruption against him.
Newsonspot blog gathered that Magu’s absence at the commission’s headquarters created uncertainty over who oversees the place.
Though President Buhari on Friday put the speculations and confusion on who supervises the commission to a stop, it was reliably gathered that the operatives are grumbling that only police officers have been heading the agency since its establishment.
Besides, some are lamenting that right from the time the pioneer Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu was appointed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the headship of the commission has been under the control of people from the North East.
Sources at the EFCC headquarters, noted with dismay the alleged dominance of the leadership of the commission even when they claimed that there are order Nigerians from different professional backgrounds that can perform far better than police officers.
The aggrieved operatives said that the new Director of Operations that was appointed by President Buhari to oversee the activities of the Commission was brought by the suspended Chairman and has stayed about four years with the commission.
“The suspended acting Chairman brought the Director of Operations, he brought him from the Police and he is not up to four years since he came.
“Since the creation of EFCC, only people from North East have been in charge of its leadership, can’t someone from other zones head the Commission and why must the Chairman come from Police all the time?
“Look at the anti-corruption establishment in Kenya, it is Prof. PLO Lumumba, he is not a policeman but he is doing so well,” a source at the commission said.
