12 April 2017•Update: 13 April 2017
By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS, Nigeria
Nigeria’s Vice President (VP) Yemi Osinbajo has said there is no plan to drop the country's anti-corruption chief even after the parliament twice rejected his nomination for the job.
Last week, the parliament stepped down a screening session for some presidential nominees to protest the retention of the anti-graft czar Ibrahim Magu. He had twice been rejected by the lawmakers, who cited a report of the country's secret police that indicted him for alleged corruption and abuse of office.
But Osinbajo, a law professor, said the parliament lacks the powers to determine which appointee of the president should go.
“The president reserves the right to say, ‘this is who I want’. I’m fully in support of Magu as the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) chairman just as the president is,” the vice president told reporters late Tuesday in capital city Abuja.
He said the constitution gives the president the powers to appoint certain heads of government agencies, including the head of the anti-corruption agency, with or without parliament approvals.
“It is up to the senate to make their judgment, and it is up to us what we want to do. If our candidate is rejected, we can represent him. No law says we can’t represent him,” Osinbajo contended.
“Senate has acted in its own wisdom to say ‘No, we don’t want him’, and we can say, ‘This is our candidate… we like the gentleman and we want him to continue’,” he added.
The vice president’s stance may cause more friction between the executive and parliament.
Many of the lawmakers are standing corruption trial.
