A moment ago, we brought you the report of a proposed bill being put together for the Federal Government of Nigeria by the Attorney General, Abubakar Malami (SAN), which weakens the power of the office of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission by creating a new and higher position known as the Director-General of the EFCC and also delegating supreme powers over the EFCC to the AFG.
According to the proposed law, the director-general will be appointed by the President based on the recommendation of the AGF and subject to confirmation by the Senate.
The bill will see the EFCC not being independent anymore as it gives the AGF the power to cancel the prosecutorial power of the EFCC when he sees fit.
Following this, a civil society organisation known as the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), kicked against bill, says it was in bad taste for the EFCC, adding that the anti-graft agency deserved to have more autonomy.
The CACOL Executive Director, Debo Adeniran, in an interview on Saturday, noted that putting the EFCC head under the AGF’s recommendation would only make the commission dance to the tune of corrupt politicians and reduce the effectiveness of the commission.
The director said, “The AGF is a politician and a political appointee who may be tempted to want to protect the interests of some of the politicians who are under EFCC’s investigations.
“The National Assembly also may want to reduce the powers of the commission because some of its members are being probed by the anti-graft agency. Instead of passing this new bill, the EFCC should be given more autonomy and made answerable to the President or at least, the Vice-President.
“We demand that the bill is dropped; it is unwarranted and it is against the spirit of progressivism and anti-corruption efforts.”
