Reps insincere on planned amendment to EFCC Act

Thenational Vice-Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Senator Joseph Waku, on Sunday in Abuja asked members of the House of Representatives to have a rethink on their plan to amend the Act establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.The Senator had also in 2000 allegedly called for the military take over of power barely one year after the return to democratic rule.Waku, in a statement, said if the lawmakers had a genuine reason to amend the EFCC Act, the timing was already suggestive of some ulterior motives.He said, It is public knowledge that the EFCC, of recent has charged a significant number of serving and past members of the House to court over alleged involvement in corruption cases.These people are bitter and will naturally want to fight back. The only logical thing is to mobilise their colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives to engage the EFCC leadership or whittle down its powers.As such, if the House is now initiating processes to amend the EFCC Act with full concentration on qualifications of who occupies the position of the commissions chairman, the only logical conclusion that can be drawn is that the process is targeting the current head of the agency for obvious reasons.Waku added, As representatives of the people of Nigeria, I will want to urge our lawmakers to reconsider their position so that ordinary Nigerians will not take it that the House is only fighting a proxy war for its members facing corruption charges.The House has in particular lately suffered a lot of damages to its image and the ongoing effort should not be allowed to further lower the public perception of the green chamber of the National Assembly.According to him, the mood of the nation and indeed the international community at the moment favours a total war against corruption in all its ramifications.
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