Grandiose Parlor

Left to Right: President Obasanjo; EFCC boss Ribadu; Electoral Commission boss Iwu

When the SaharaReporters.com first broke the news that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) list of corrupt politicians ineligible to be contest the upcoming elections in April was doctored by the Presidency, few Nigerians, including myself, paid little, if any attention to the story.

Little did we know that the office of the president did in fact alter the list i.e. removed and added other names to the original list! And if the statement credited to Senator Lawal Shuaibu, the Chairman of the Senate Committee that drafted the law that brought the EFCC to being and the Chairman of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the adulterated EFCC list, the president has the power to do so!

Excerpt from the Nigerian Vanguard:

“Gradually we are coming to know the extent of Section 137 of the constitution, particularly with the kind of powers vested in the president I think has been exposed by our investigations with regards to the manner in which the president was able to “doctor” the list submitted to him by the EFCC. What people didn’t know was that he decided to hide under that Section and did what he did…The EFCC did their work, they did it fine (and) in compliance with Section 137 of the constitution as well as Section 36 of the EFCC law, they sent to the government the list and what the president did was to hide under Section 137, where the constitution gives him the power to accept.

When the constitution gives him the power to accept, it means he also has the option of rejecting. And when they said, you can accept or not. So what he should have done was to look at image of the EFCC, the credibility the EFCC has established for itself and for the country. And the kind of applause the EFCC was enjoying from the common man of this country and do justice and do fairness, instead, certain governors who were in the public knowledge today were the biggest looters of public treasury, Mr. President removed their names and we found out not to be in consonance with fair play, in consonance with equity, in consonance with good conscience.”

What I discerned from Senator Shuaibu is this:

The EFCC is simply an appendage of the Presidency. The Nigerian constitution does permit the president to use and influence the commission as he deems fit i.e. The president can command the EFCC to investigate anyone. The EFCC must seek approval from the presidency before it commences any investigation or releases its findings. And regardless of the Mr Ribadu (EFCC boss) says, the EFCC is simply not independent!

The “adjustment” the Presidency made to the original EFCC list raises a strong moral question and puts several question marks on the activities of the EFCC. It questions the intentions of the Nigerian president, Mr. Obasanjo, his sincerity fighting corruption, and his genuineness as a reformist and just leader.