Senate moves to reduce president’s power on sack of EFCC chairman

A bill seeking to reduce the power of the president on the sack of the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) scaled the second reading in the Senate on Tuesday.

The legislation titled: “Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act Amendment Bill and for other Matters Connected Therewith 2022,” was sponsored by the Senate Minority Whip, Chukwuka Utazi.

The bill also seeks to restrict the appointment of the EFCC chairman to the staff of the anti-graft agency.

Although many senators, who spoke on the matter, supported the need to get the Senate’s approval before the termination of the appointment of any EFCC chairman by the president, they were divided on whether the appointment of the chairman should be restricted to the staff.

Utazi, who led the debate on the bill at the plenary, said: “One of the thrusts of this amendment is the issue of security of tenure for the executive chairman of the commission.

“For other anti-graft…