The Presidency and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have  denied claims that Ibrahim Magu, acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC, was  sacked this morning, December 31.

In a brief statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, the Presidency said it was unaware of the purported sack of Magu.

“We are reading reports that the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu has been sacked. No report has been made available to the Presidency by the Attorney General of the federation over the matter. The report of his sack is therefore speculative and preemptive,” Shehu stated.

Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the anti-graft agency who spoke with www.icirnigeria.org, had also denied the report.

“The report is not true. Yes, it is true that he received a query from the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. But any other story is not true. He is still in charge,” Uwujaren stated.

A report published by the Guardian on Saturday quoted an unnamed source as disclosing that Magu has been redeployed back to Nigerian Police Force “to pave way for a fresh person to be presented by President Muhammadu Buhari as the nominee to head the anti-graft agency before the Senate.”

The paper also said it “reliably gathered” that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had already issued a letter to Magu on the development and directed that he hands over to the director of operations in the Commission.

Some online publications, quoting the Guardian, had also reported Magu’s sack.

Magu has been in the eye of the storm since the Nigerian Senate recently rejected his nomination to head the EFCC and failed to confirm him as substantive chairman of the commission.

The senate, which did not hold any confirmation hearing for Magu, but discussed his confirmation at a close door executive session, said Magu’s confirmation was rejected because of a security report by the Department of State Services which allegedly levelled allegation of graft against him.

Magu has however repeatedly denied any wrong doing. Itse Sagay, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Anti-Corruption, in a recent interview had said the presidency would continue to re-present Magu for confirmation as EFCC chairman.