Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has ruled out the possibility of President Muhammadu Buhari replacing the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, whose nomination has been rejected by the Senate twice.
He said the President did not find the security report prepared by the Department of State Services which is the basis of his rejection a strong reason to replace Magu.
According to a report by an online medium, The Cable, Osinbajo spoke with some journalists from select media houses and social media activists at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said that despite being rejected twice, the government was still at liberty to renominate Magu.
He, however, said he aligned himself with the argument of a lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), that Senate confirmation was not needed for the EFCC chairman based on the provisions of Section 171 of the constitution.
He said. “It is up to the Senate to make their judgment (on Magu), and it is up to us say what we want to do. If our candidate is rejected, we can re-present him.
“No law says we can’t re-present him. And again, there is the other argument, whether or not we need to present him for confirmation and that’s a compelling argument from Femi Falana.
“His argument is that under the Constitution, Section 171, and if you look at that section, it talks about the appointments that the President can make. They include appointments of ministers, ambassadors and heads of agencies such as the EFCC.