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The Senate has rescheduled the screening of Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu for Thursday, December 15, 2016.
This followed the failure of the upper legislative chamber to screen the anti-graft agency boss at plenary Thursday .
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu had on Wednesday urged senators to be present for Magu’s screening and confirmation yesterday.
However, hopes were dashed as Magu who was accompanied to the National Assembly Complex by officials of the agency, could not be screened.
Magu became acting chairman of the Commission in November 2015 after the expiration of the tenure of his predecessor, Ibrahim Lamorde. President Muhammadu Buhari had in July forwarded his name to the Senate for confirmation.
Explaining why the nominee could not be confirmed, deputy senate leader, Bala Na’Allah said this would pave the way for more senators to be part of the exercise.
“We agreed that today (Thursday) will be the confirmation hearing of the EFCC Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu but yesterday (Wednesday) we received a lot of calls from senators who are away and who believed that they want to participate and that it is unfair for us to fix today when we know they are not around.
When we looked at the demands and number we felt it would be wrong for us to proceed disregarding those calls.
“Then we said let us put it against Tuesday. Again we became too unsure as to whether Monday or Tuesday will be declared public holiday by the Federal Government in respect of the impending Eid-el Maulud holiday.
“We said it is now even more convenient on Wednesday, the President is going to present the 2017 budget before the National Assembly and the assumption is that more than 80 percent of the senators will be in attendance on that day. If 80 percent of the senators are there and they are aware that the confirmation hearing is the next day which is Thursday”, he told journalists immediately after plenary.
According to him, the Senate leadership has already written an official letter to the acting chairman on the development.
