Those who will head the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have been urged to live about board and realize that power is transient and every one will account for his deeds.
A lawyer and lawmaker representing Ibadan South East state constituency 1 in the Eighth Oyo State House of Assembly, Fatai Adesina, made the call while speaking at Corridors of Power, a live radio programme of Star FM, Ibadan monitored by InsideOyo.com said the travail of the suspended acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu was not surprising to him.
Adesina hinged his submission on the fact that his predecessors in office had been unceremoniously booted out of office.
He pointed out that there is no way someone would be in government that he should step on toes, saying it is imperative for the occupier of such exalted office to work in accordance with the law and best practices.
Adesina said:”Magu’s travail is not new to me. If you go back to the history. Look at what happened to Nuhu Ribadu, Farida Waziri, Ibrahim Lamorde and now Magu. So, it’s not new. There is no way you will be in power or government that you will not step on toes. It is just for you to be mindful of the fact that power is transient.
“If some alleged that 2023 is the reason for the travail, one thing is to allege and one thing is to prove. One thing is to show that actually you have messed your hand up with it. Law has no respect for anybody. Law and morality do not mean the same thing. If you are guilty, go and face the music. Because we have all the parphenia of office given to Magu, nobody was disturbing him. If he now used that office in another way, let him face the music.
“Anyone given an appointment should know his limit and know his report line. Malami is the political head of that ministry . So, if Magu has issues but Malami advises him, he refuses to take to it, he should go and carry his cross.
“Malami should also be probed as well. If Magu has any information on Malami, he should come out it. He who is down, need not to fear fall again. He is already down. It will be interesting to even know that aspect of Malami”.
On the call for the amendment to the EFCC Act, Adesina said:”If you are saying the offices of Minister for Justice and that of the Attorney-General of the Federation should be separated, I will agree totally.
“The problem we have in this country is that simply because something is not working, we are asking for reordering. Reordering in what way? That the EFCC chairman should be reporting to the President, there must a an alter ego. There must be a bar. If the chairman reports to the President and there are issuss in the future, will the President appear in court on behalf of the Federal Government? For any issues coming up it is Malami as per section 204 that is authorized to represent the Federal Government in court. That is why when you cannot sue the President but you should the Attorney General.
“What we can do is to appeal to the appointee to realize that there is a banana peel in the EFCC. If I am going to any office now, I need to be careful. I need to think of my future. Before I take any action, I need to ask myself if the action is okay and in line with the constitution and the oath of office? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. People are just being carried away with power and it is transient and they realize that they will account for their actions and inaction”.
The signing the revised 2020 Budget by President Muhammadu Buhari, Adesina who is an accountant, faulted some aspects of the budget.
He stressed the need for the government to focus more on defence in the face of insurgency in the North.
He said: “We have to live within the dictate of the time. We also know that COVID-19 is ravaging. The economy has been badly hurt. We have to adjust to the situation on ground and that is why you see the revised budget. But there are some items budgeted for which to me, don’t exist. One, the issue of sport participation. We all know that things are being cancelled now. Even our own Edo 2020 is not holding. Not to talk of international participation. I think that kind of item should be looked into. Two, we look at the priority areas. We have the issue of transportation. Two, the ongoing projects, agriculture is part of it. What happens to education, health, in view of this COVID-19. These are the areas we need to look at. Because health should have come ahead, then education in that order.
“Another thing is defence. We are know what is happening in Boko Haram. It is not given priority. We used to have higher budget on defence before. Maybe, they thought we are winning in the war against insurgency. The allocation to defence should have been more than that given what is happening”.
