Corruption: Saraki warns FG panel against demonising N/Assembly
“The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, however did not state why his Senate failed to look at the letter represented by President Muhammadu Buhari seeking confirmation of the anti-corruption czar, Ibrahim Magu, as Chairman of EFCC, which was sent back to him far before the Acting President sent the letter seeking the confirmation of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice WSN Onnoghen. The CJN has been confirmed but Saraki’s Senate left the EFCC chairman confirmation hanging.”
Senate President Bukola Saraki has warned the Presidential Advisory Council Against Corruption (PACAC) against demonising the National Assembly as a den of corruption.
The Senate President gave the warning at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday at the commencement of the a two-day National Dialogue on Corruption.
Saraki, who was represented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Anti-corruption Senator Chukwuka Utazi, cautioned that painting institutions of government in bad light would not help in building confidence.
The Senate President noted that the fight against corruption was not a one man’s affair, describing the National Assembly as a critical stakeholder and partner in the mandate given to the PACAC.
He said: “Deliberately casting the fight as that of one man, a kind of knight with a shining armour who wrestles with a resisting society, in my humble view, will not secure the desired result.
“Certain government agencies and civil society bodies have formed the habit of making the National Assembly a scapegoat and den of corruption. And PACAC is not innocent of this. They deliberately cast institutions of state in un-salutary hew that are devoid of reality.
“It does not help in confidence building within government and across the civil population when institutions of state are deliberately demonised.”
The Senate president suggested that the fight against corruption be driven by well articulated strategies.
“These strategies must be multi-faceted, taking alongside Nigeria’s political, economic and social systems with each arm or department of government operating within their jurisdiction and mandates to secure the desired result,” he stated.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, however did not state why his Senate failed to look at the letter represented by President Muhammadu Buhari seeking confirmation of the anti-corruption czar, Ibrahim Magu, as Chairman of EFCC, which was sent back to him far before the Acting President sent the letter seeking the confirmation of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice WSN Onnoghen. The CJN has been confirmed but Saraki’s Senate left the EFCC chairman confirmation hanging.
