The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has said Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has constitutional powers to fire any minister who openly disagree with him on any national issue.
Sagay said this on Thursday while reacting to a statement credited to Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, that Osinbajo’s position on the refusal of the Senate to confirm Ibrahim Magu as the substantive head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was his personal opinion.
Osinbajo had said the government would retain Magu, adding that the executive had constitutional powers to solely appoint some heads of agencies including the EFCC. The statement had drawn the ire of the Senate which recently resolved to stop accepting nominees from the executive.
A few hours after Malami had said Osinbajo did not consult the Federal Executive Council before saying the executive did not need Senate confirmation for Magu to function, Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, also described the acting President’s comment as a ‘‘personal opinion.’’
However, Sagay said Malami was out of order because the constitution stated clearly that the opinion or decision of the President or acting President was final and could not be questioned by any minister.
“The Executive Council of the Federation, also known as FEC, cannot have views that are separate or different from those of the President, or where applicable, the Acting President; otherwise, that will constitute gross insubordination and misconduct that can lead to dismissal.
“Therefore, the slant being given to the statement of the Attorney General of the Federation, namely; that the Executive Council of the Federation is entitled to meet in order to express an opinion or view on a matter on which the President or Acting President has already expressed his views or opinions is wrong, misleading and totally unconstitutional,” Sagay argued in a statement.
Also, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) expressed fear that there could be saboteurs in the Presidency, who were not comfortable with the fight against corruption and who would want Magu removed.
The CACOL Director, Debo Adeniran, said, in a statement that: “Some of those ministers appointed by President Buhari are those who will not support him to fight corruption hands down. There are several executives in the Presidency who will be sabotaging the bids of the President and the acting President.
“We know that the ascendancy of this administration to power rests on its readiness to fight corruption. The EFCC chairman has been able to demonstrate courage, standing eyeball-to-eyeball with people who feel they are larger than life.’’
