The President may have finally heeded to the DSS Report which indicted Mr Ibrahim Magu to have failed an “integrity test” and described him as a “liability on anti-graft war.”
The imbroglio over Magu’s appointment which came to a head following his rejection by the Nigerian Senate for the umpteenth time on March 15, has remained a sore point in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The development has also been blamed for the intermittently fractious relationship between the Executive and the Legislature, particularly between the Presidency and leadership of the Senate, with the latter stalling further consideration and confirmation of appointees by the President.
However, Buhari is reported to be eager to change the narrative and prove that he has all along, been concerned by the reports against the acting EFCC Chairman. Similar to the case of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr. Babachir Lawal, the President is said to have had enough of accusations of lethargy in dealing erring appointees.
With recommendations for a credible and qualified replacement already tabled before him, Buhari it was learnt, will also deviate from ‘mono-attributes’ of past EFCC leadership – which was narrowed to a particular agency, ethnic group and religion – by choosing a non-police officer to head the agency.
This invariably shows that President Buhari may have agreed with the call for a consideration of “Internal EFCC Management Operatives,” who also posses the requisite experience and qualifications needed to pivot the anti-graft agency.
EFCC staffers are already beginning to jubilate, hoping that this will be the first time that a core EFCC management operative would be considered.
According to some operatives, “we believe with this intended new dimension in the history of the EFCC by President Buhari, there would be hope and great success in subsequent fight against corruption, and reduce the many “controversies” and national disarray, caused by the delayed decision on our acting boss, Mr Magu.”
Intra-agency rivalry
The jubilation among staff of the anti-graft agency is not misplaced, given Magu’s alleged discriminatory tendencies which have seen mostly staff seconded from the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, benefit from his leadership far more than core non-police staff of the agency.
Core staff have repeatedly claimed that they have not been treated fairly by an executive chair of the Commission, who favours his colleagues from the Force.
The operatives, who include senior detectives and cadets have been at the Commission since its inception. They say despite their continued effort, they are being denied their rights including promotions and access to arms – unlike Police Officers who continue to expand against the Rules of the Commission.
Their grievances have been well documented in several petitions over the years, addressed to both President Buhari and the National Assembly.
Giving an insight into some of the underlying factors behind the rivalry in the agency, an operative said “there has been this issue of vast disparity, when it comes to treating every operative equally that is core staff and seconded Policemen.”
According to the operative, the coming of Mr Magu increased the issue of acrimony and unjust official treatment of EFCC core staff. Since the appointment of Mr Magu, “it has been one complaint to another, over the humiliation and victimisation suffered by EFCC Staff,” he said.
Another source claimed that to stifle their voices, Mr Magu promoted police friends at the expense of operational workers.
Management of the agency has also targeted operatives it suspects, have leaked out series of credible information on its challenges to the DSS and the Presidency.
“Our boss believed that the EFCC Core Staff have been the ones furnishing the Department of State Services, DSS, all the factual and accurate accounts of his unwholesome atrocities and maladministration,” a staff claimed.
Edited fromDenisaurus News
