*PACAC Is Still Very Relevant To Anti-Corruption War - Sagay

Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-Gen­eral of the Federa­tion and Minister of Justice, has recommended the disbandment of the Pres­idential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) headed by Prof. Itse Sagay to President Muhammadu Bu­hari, Daily Independent has gathered.

Sources said Malami’s argument was that the com­mittee has outlived its useful­ness and should be disbanded like the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP) formerly under the supervision of Okoi Obo­no-Obla.

President Buhari disband­ed the SPIP in September 2019 and transferred the du­ties of the panel to Malami.

PACAC was established in August 2015, with the mandate to promote the reform agenda of the gov­ernment on the anti-corrup­tion effort, and to advise the present administration in the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.

Daily Independent gath­ered that trouble began be­tween Malami and PACAC over the committee mem­bers’ belief that the minis­ter was interfering in some of their works, especially on their report on some corrupt Nigerians.

The committee also in­curred Malami’s wrath when it declared public support for the reappointment of Ibra­him Magu, former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Com­mission (EFCC).

However, Malami, in a memo to President Buhari, accused Magu of a myriad of contraventions, especially “diversion of recovered loot, insubordination and miscon­duct”. He further said that Magu was not transparent enough in the management of the recovered assets.

Magu was later probed and found guilty of the charges leveled against him by the Justice Ayo Salami panel which recommended his sack.

The president, thereafter, appointed Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Lagos zonal head of EFCC, as the substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency.

Following Bawa’s confir­mation by the Senate, Sagay had said Malami, as the per­son who recommended him for the position, will interfere in his work and will not allow him to operate.

Responding, the minister through his spokesperson, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, said Sagay is “a confused old man whose vision is becloud­ed by speculations and guess works.”

Speaking with Daily In­dependent on Sunday, a pres­idency source said Malami has called for the disband­ment of PACAC as the com­mittee is no longer relevant to the anti-corruption war.

“The minister has made some recommendations, one of which is the disband­ment of PACAC. It, however, remains to be seen whether the president will approve of it or not”.

When contacted, Malami, who spoke through his media aide, said only the presidency that established PACAC can determine whether it is still useful or not.

“PACAC is a presidential committee established by the presidency long before the appointment of Abu­bakar Malami, SAN, as the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and his assumption into office in 2015.

“The fate of the existence or otherwise of the commit­tee is exclusive preserve of the presidency regardless of whether it outlives its useful­ness or not.”

Also speaking, Prof. Sagay said contrary to what the minister or others may think, PACAC is still very relevant in the fight against corrup­tion in the country.

Listing some of the achievements of the com­mittee since its formation, Sagay said, “All I will say is that whatever he may think, the committee is still very relevant to the fight against corruption in this country.

“We provide the coordi­nation of the two agencies (EFCC and ICPC), we train and help to mobilise and en­courage the anti-corruption agencies to be more effective. We have a lot of ideas that we have been pumping into the system which they are using.

“We have written books on prosecution, sentencing and various other issues which are relevant to their work, apart from actually training them. This is a continuous process.

“This issue of recoveries, which is a major part of the work of the two agencies is hugely a result of the various trainings that we gave to the agencies in 2017 on recovery of assets when we found that sentencing the victims in pol­itics was difficult.

“We thought let us re­cover what they looted and we invited experts from all over the world in that field to provide trainings, including United Nations personnel. So, we are still very vital to the fight against corruption in this country”.

Lanre4uonly:
If this would be the solution, so be it.

Neoteny:

You're truly a patriot
More seasoning to your BBQs.

Benekruku:

God bless your Mother!
Na baby she born!
Not all this pikins littering Nairaland.

post=99501151:
Anything to move our darling country forward is what we are after

Nigeria will be great again in our lifetime.

despi64:
Good, make Sagay go siddon, i used to think he had integrity, but no, his conscience has a price.

post=99501151:
Anything to move our darling country forward is what we are after

Nigeria will be great again in our lifetime.