A late Thursday parley between the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and the Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki did not resolve the issue.
Privileged sources disclosed to Sunday Tribune that the major point of the meeting was the embattled Magu, especially the statement credited to the acting president over his insistence that he would not be removed.
It was learnt that the meeting was called at the behest of the acting president, who was said to have expressed concern over the manner the Magu issue was polarising the lawmakers and the Presidency.
“I want to say that the acting president requested for it and said he is not too comfortable with the development,” one of the sources said.
According to the source, Professor Osinbajo felt that the Senate should not have dwelt so much on a comment he made on a statement by a senior lawyer on the issue.
He was said to have told the Senate President that the senators should not allow the Magu to “cause a rift between them,” while they were seeking top legal opinions even from the bench.
Sunday Tribune gathered that Senator Saraki, while assuring him of the senators’ respect for his person and office just as they did ailing President Muhammadu Buhari, said the Senate would not in any way create any problem or heat the polity, but insisted Magu must be removed from his position.
Saraki, he said, informed Professor Osinbajo that what the Senate stands for is to ensure that the rule of law is rigorously adhered to.
“He told the acting president that senators will insist on the rule of law and not the rule of the thumb. They will insist that there are no two laws in Nigeria: one for those who are being protected and another for the rest of the society,” disclosed a source.
Sunday Tribune’s efforts to get some key officials of both the Presidency and Senate President office to talk on the issue were not successful, as all those approached refused to make any comment.
But, it learnt that the development might not be unconnected with the decision by both parties not to play into the hands of entrenched political interests who want the issue to fester.
Senate calls off RECs, NDDC members, others’ screening indefinitely
Details emerged at the weekend that a total shutdown of government appears in the horizon if the face-off between the National Assembly and the executive continues.
Investigations by Sunday Tribune indicated that agencies that would be adversely affected included the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the National Lottery Commission (NLC), the National Agency for Food and Drug Adminstration ( NAFDAC) the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), among others.
The Senate is yet to complete the screening of a remainder of members of the NDDC board, who were replaced after initial rejection by the chamber.
The Senate Committee on Niger Delta had refused to screen the remaining members due to the face off with the executive.
Investigations revealed that the committee had communicated to the affected candidates that they would not be screened until the crisis between the Senate and the executive was resolved.
Already, constituents of the affected NDDC states have made representations to the Senate to no avail.
Honourable Chinoyerem Macebuh, who spoke to Sunday Tribune on the matter, said the people of the affected states including Imo, Abia and Ondo were becoming restless as their states were being shut out of NDDC activities.
“We need to stem restiveness in these areas as the people are already worried that they are being short-changed,” the former lawmaker said.
Besides the face-off, the acrimony is also threatening the deployment of 20 Resident Electoral Commissioners, who are yet to be confirmed by the Senate and already cut in the crossfire.
The appointments of substantive directors general into agencies like NAFDAC will remain in acting capacity as long as the face off lasts.
The position of DG of the National Lottery Commission, which was also rejected on Wednesday, was another position already caught in the cross fire
“The president may have power to keep people in acting positions, but there is a huge tentativeness associated with acting roles. It is clearly different from the situation when you hold a substantive position, “ Macebuh said.
Lawyers urge caution
Speaking on the Senate and the Presidency’s bickering, some senior lawyers and jurists have called for caution on both sides.
Speaking with Sunday Tribune, the second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Monday Ubani said: “This is not the time for both parties to be at war, as they are of the same party. We all know what the problem is and my sincere advice is that they try as much as possible to sort it out politically.
“They are bickering at the expense of Nigerians and honestly, it is not acceptable. The truth is that even if they drag themselves to court and the court gives a judgement that conflicts both parties, they would still bicker.
Also commenting on the issue, human rights lawyer and activist, Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa, expressed dismay at the turn of events.
He said: “I believe that the Presidency is not well advised, especially in the area of the law. There is no way they can use Section 171 of the Constitution to bypass the Senate’s confirmation of a public officer.
“I have had cause to file a suit against Magu, but I had to withdraw it when I really took out time to study the personality and feats of the person in question.
“Nigeria needs strong and motivated individuals, someone like Magu is definitely, and would also do a great job.
“I support Magu but sadly, he cannot become the EFCC chairman without the Senate’s approval. The Presidency cannot retain him if the Senate says no.
“What I expect the presidency to do is to lobby the Senate for Magu’s confirmation. I appreciate the stand of the Presidency on certain issues, but there is need for the Presidency to caution those around it.
“Generally speaking, the utterances of the people around the Presidency have been unguarded. We cannot have people in sensitive positions of the government that run their mouths anyhow.
“In addition, what is going on right now is a sad reflection of the bankruptcy of APC. This is the first time in Nigerian history where we will have a ruling party that is also the opposition party,” Adegboruwa said.
Also lending his voice, a human rights lawyer, Adeola Oladeinde, called on both warring parties to sheathe their swords in the interest of Nigerians.
“The acting President is entitled to his opinion, and although it does seem that the EFCC Act requires the Senate confirmation of the chairman of the commission, the acting President may have had the benefit of the guidance of expert legal opinion taking a different view of the matter,” he said.
“This divergence of opinion is common place in a democracy and there are quite a number of issues which are not regarded as having been “settled” – including the question whether the National Assembly can, suo motu, add to an Appropriations Bill. I do not think that having an opinion different from that of the Senate will amount, by any stretch, to a gross misconduct.
“On the issue of Magu’s appointment, again, this is a grey patch of area. If those who advise the Presidency think that until a new person is appointed, it is logical to ask Magu to continue in office, even without confirmation from the Senate, and if the Constitution has not made any specific rule regulating this sort of scenario. I think it is incumbent on the National Assembly to pass laws that provide better clarity on the scenario – just as it did with ambiguities over the hand over of power to a Vice President when the President is indisposed to continue in office in 2011.
“ If the President thinks Magu is the right man for this job, I would not like that choice to be overturned on flimsy or politically-motivated grounds,” he said.
and then