Senate Can't Be Blackmailed Over EFCC, Customs Bosses - Saraki

The former Kwara State governor who made this disclosure during an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP said, “We need to stop this issue of blackmail. You must follow the process. Was it Senate that wrote his report? The security report they gave Magu, was it manufactured by the senate? The screening of Magu was live, we didn’t do it in the dark room at night? Everybody saw the performance.
“And lastly, they say because some senators have cases with the EFCC. Yes, some senators have cases with the EFCC but these cases were made public even before Magu became the chairman of the EFCC. So, is it Magu that made your case with EFCC? Why will everybody hold that against Magu?

“I think that is propaganda. Most of these things should be based on facts. And I think we need to separate facts from things that are not true. So, my own view is that those views will change because at the end of the day the views are not based on facts. I have given you fact. And the fact is that what is the responsibility of the senate based on the constitution? We are to make laws”.

Magu, who is currently acting chairman of the anti-corruption agency had appeared for confirmation twice before the Senate but was turned down on the two occasions.
But while the public, which considers Magu a tough and thorough professional sees the lawmakers’ action as an attempt to cover up for some alleged corrupt members of the Senate, Saraki stated that the lawmakers merely acted within their constitutional power, adding that it was a security report that nailed Magu.

Speaking on the Customs. Saraki said: “When we talked about Customs, we were talking about something in the interest of Nigerians, but some people now take to blackmail and propaganda and now say it had something to do on car duty. At the end of the day, when the facts came out you could not hear anything anymore.”

Saraki who said the National Assembly was working hand-in-hand with other arms of government in the anti-graft war of the present administration also wondered why Nigerians miscontrued the senate’s action on customs boss, Hameed Ali.