THE Presidency and the Senate are heading for a showdown over the appointment of Mrs. Faridah Waziri as the new acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The Presidency had on Thursday announced Mrs. Waziri as acting head of the EFCC, to replace Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, who had been acting chairman since the substantive chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, was sent on course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State.
But the Senate is insisting on due process in the appointment and has faulted the procedure for appointing an acting chairman from outside the organisation.
Senate spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, told the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday that the Senate would ensure strict adherence to the rules as far as the situation at the EFCC was concerned.
He said that the Senate would ensure that anyone who breached the law of the land was handled by the law enforcement agencies in the country, adding that if the procedure had been breached by the President, it would be quickly pointed out to him.
�We are studying the situation and once we confirm that the procedure has been breached and that any of our laws has been violated, the Senate will not spare anything in ensuring that the relevant law enforcement agencies swing into action to bring whoever might have violated the rules to book.
�If the procedure was violated by the President, we would quickly point it out to him, and I am sure he will reverse it,� Senator Eze, who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media, said.
Indications of a showdown by the Senate with the Presidency emerged at the weekend when senators insisted that the appointment of a replacement for Ribadu could not be done through the back door.
Senate sources insisted that the upper chamber could not allow its laws to be violated especially in an administration that preaches adherence to the rule of law.
Section 3 of the EFCC Act stated that: �The Chairman and members of the commission, other than ex-officio members shall be appointed by the President and the appointment shall be subject to the confirmation of the Senate.�
It was gathered at the weekend that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, had advised the President to go ahead and make the announcement following a publication in the Nigerian Tribune last Thursday that some forces were pushing the appointment of Mrs. Roseline Wushishi, another retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), who hails from Cross Rivers State.
Though speculations about Waziri�s appointment had been in the media for close to two months, that of Wushishi was a recent development and was said to have received the blessing of the top hierarchy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Besides Aondoakaa, another high ranking official in Yar�Adua�s government was said to be one of those who succeeded in convincing President Umaru Yar�Adua to approve the announcement of Mrs. Waziri as the EFCC�s acting chairman.
It was gathered that though the government top officials were aware of the EFCC Act, they were of the view that the woman could be appointed in acting capacity for six months before the Senate could be asked to confirm her.
But a Senate source said that the woman�s appointment was a breach of the law, since it amounted to her resuming at her duty post before the confirmation of the Senate was received.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and anti-Corruption, Senator Sola Akinyede, confirmed on Sunday that he had sent a letter to the Attorney General to complain that the appointment of Mrs. Waziri was illegal.
He stated that there was nothing in the EFCC Act that allowed the appointment of an acting chairman, stating that a letter was dispatched to AGF on Friday to state his committee�s position.
�The law setting up the EFCC is very clear on appointment of chairman and members of the commission. There is no provision for the position of acting chairman. I have done a letter to the AGF on that and I believe by Monday (today), he will have a position on it,� he said.
He also declared that the position of EFCC chairman could be likened to that of a minister, which the President also appoints.