The legislation titled; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act Amendment Bill and for other Matters sponsored by the Senate Minority Whip, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, also seeks the restriction of appointment into the office from EFCC staff.
Senator Utazi, while leading the debate on the bill, said in ensuring the security of tenure for the EFCC chairman, the Senate should approve the removal of any chairman on the firing line of the president as it does in the appointment.
Utazi added that the other thrust of the amendment, despite already being taken care of, by President Muhammadu Buhari with the appointment of Abdulrasheed Bawa as EFCC chairman in February last year, required law to restrict such appointment to EFCC staff as being sought by the bill.
He said it will enhance professionalism in the service of the anti-graft agency.
Many senators, who contributed to the debate, supported the argument of seeking approval of the Senate before the termination of the appointment of any EFCC chairman by the President, but differed on restricting the appointment of the commission’s chairman to insiders.
In his remarks after the bill scaled second reading, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, also supported the restricting the appointment of the chairman of EFCC but, said the proposed law, must state it clearly that the position is political and not civil service that will require the most senior officer to assume the chairmanship position.
The bill was forwarded to the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes for more legislative inputs within four weeks.
