Waziri's Sack, Beginning of Reforms-Jonathan

Sulaimon Alamutu.

23 November 2011

Abuja — THE Presidency yesterday said the sack of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, was part of government's reforms to revitalise its fight against corruption.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Rueben Abati, yesterday in a statement, which came after the sudden sack of the EFCC chairman said, 'this is one of the series of reforms that will be taking place in the coming days.'

The statement explained that, 'President Goodluck Jonathan may in due course announce further reforms and will be looking at other key areas to give more vigorous emphasis to the administration's transformation agenda.'

An earlier statement by the President's spokesman, had said Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde would replace Waziri as acting chairman and chief executive of the anti-corruption agency.

The statement reads: 'President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde as the acting chairman/chief executive of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

'The appointment takes immediate effect, and effectively relieves Mrs. Farida Waziri of her position as EFCC chairman.

Waziri was appointed EFCC chairman by the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on May 18, 2008 and confirmed by the Senate on May 27, 2008.

'Mr. Lamorde, an officer of the Nigeria Police, was, until this appointment the director of Operations of the EFCC.'
Only last week, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terence McCulley, in an interview with Reuters, said corruption was clearly a problem in Nigeria. 'Corruption not only saps the confidence in people in government, it also discourages both national and foreign investment and I think it's a problem Nigeria needs to tackle more aggressively,' McCulley said.

He said a big step in Nigeria's development would be to put someone in charge of the country's anti-corruption agency with the integrity shown by Attahiru Jega, the man behind the successful elections in April.

But eminent Nigerians have reacted with mixed feelings to the sudden removal of Waziri, which came seven months to the end of her tenure in June 2012.

Former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, said the sacked EFCC's boss did her best in the fight against corruption, adding that 'it is only posterity that can judge and assess her achievements as the chairman of the EFCC.'

Tsav, however, inferred that the sack of Mrs. Waziri might not be unconnected with her stepping on big toes by her recent arraignment of some eminent Nigerians, in addition to accusation that she was shielding George Akume, former Benue State governor from prosecution.

He said her sack might also be as a result of what he described 'as sustained and sponsored attack by Sahara reporters and other cynics for alleged and unproven abuse of office.'

He said, 'If the war against corruption must be won and sustained in Nigeria, there should be continuity and the political will to tame this monster.

'Although I am one of the supporters of Mrs. Waziri, I have no hard feelings on her removal. As a Muslim, I know that what has a beginning must have an end. Even life is not permanent.

She was appointed by the late President Yar'Adua; her removal by Jonathan was long foreseen.

'In Nigeria, our personal and selfish interests seem to override national interest. How can we succeed as a nation? I doff my heart for Mrs. Farida Waziri, OFR, for a job well done. Incidentally, the new man Ibrahim Lamorde served under Mrs. Waziri in the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the police,' Tsav said.

Constitutional lawyer, Fred Agbaje accused the Presidency of taking advantage of the 'lacuna' in Section 3 of the EFCC Act which says that 'the chairman of the commission can be removed for acts that are not in the best interest of the commission or for acts that are not in tandem with public interest.'

'Just ask me, who decides what acts are not in the interest of the public or what acts are not in the interest of the commission?

I will tell you it is the same appointing authority, Aso Rock! It is Aso Rock that appoints, it is Aso Rock which acts is in transgression of the commission.

'It is the same Aso Rock that decides which acts are not in the public interest. You see what is involved in holding the chairmanship of an organisation like the EFCC.
Because of the lacuna in the enabling law, the Presidency has taken advantage of this lacuna to get her out.

Maybe, we can invoke the Freedom of Information Act now and ask the president to give us the reasons. Those reasons he considered not to be in the public interest that led to her being removed,' he said.

Agbaje, in a telephone interview with The Moment, also said Mrs. Waziri might have stepped on big toes in the course of her duty, adding that it was a surprise that she lasted three years in the commission.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201111240274.html

I think GEJ just woke up from slumber