I Didn’t Lobby Senators For Confirmation As EFCC Chairman -Magu

AISHA ABUBAKAR

Mr. Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has denied lobbying any senator to help fasttrack his confirmation as the substantive head of the anti-graft agency. 

In a statement released on Monday, Magu said President Muhammadu Buhari has given him a delicate job to fight corruption in Nigeria and he is fully focused on this mandate.

“I have got a job to do; my motivation is to make a difference because our country has suffered a lot from the effects of corruption. I sleep and wake up every day thinking about what new thing I can do to add value to the work that had already been done,” Magu said.

He added that the result of this commitment is evident in the reinvigorated anti-graft war in the last one year.

“Even critics will concede that the EFCC under Magu has been reenergized with new milestones recorded. This includes over 200 convictions and asset and properties running into billions of dollars recovered within a space of one year.”

Magu was reacting to a report captioned, “Senators ask Saraki to release DSS report on Magu”, which appeared in the Daily Trust newspaper of Monday December 5, 2016.

The report purported, among others, that Magu has been lobbying principal officers of the senate over his confirmation.

“The Commission wishes to state that this information is patently false,” the statement reads.

“Stakeholders from within and outside Nigeria, including members of the civil society, international law enforcement organizations and development partners, including the generality of media, acknowledge the gains that have been made by the EFCC in the last one year.

“The challenge before the Commission is the sustenance of the current tempo of activities and it will not be distracted by mischief from a section of the media.