The Governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu has called on President
Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Acting Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Commission (EFCC) and replace him with a more competent and
generally acceptable candidate. The Governor who made the call when he
featured on a radio programme anchored on Saturday by Fresh FM Ibadan
stated that his position was based on his rejection by the Senate.
Gov.
Akeredolu explained that they are over 1, 001 persons who can
effectively discharge the duties of the Chairman of the Commission. He
said the legal tussle on whether the Chairman of the Commission needed
to be cleared by the Senate was unnecessary since there was an
established practice.
According to him “... my take on this is:
If the Senate did not need to clear him, why was his name sent there in
the first instance? The Presidency must clear the air on that. Then the
argument changed that his clearance is in the EFCC Act and not in the
constitution. But it is there.Is the Act in conflict with the
constitution? If it is not, then you have to apply it. It is a gray area
for now and needs the imprimatur of the Supreme Court to decide where
we go from there.
The Supreme Court can ask the question: Have
you had an EFCC chairman who was not cleared by the Senate? That can be
raised. It can say then we have established a convention that he must be
cleared. The clearance is provided for in the EFCC Act and so why don’t
we go by it?"
“The Supreme Court can also explain if the
provision in the EFCC Act is in conflict with the constitution it will
explain how that happens. We have wonderful Judges everywhere and the
way we give interpretation is different. It may be subjective For me, I
know what I believe. I don’t see any reason for instance why the
clearance must not be sought. If the Senate decides it will not clear
Magu, then the Presidency should pick another person,” he added.
cc: vigil360
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