But Magu said it was too early for him to disclose the extent to which the commission had gone in its investigation of the matter.
He also hinted of an ongoing probe of some of the nation’s universities’ Vice Chancellors over allegation of monthly diversion of N450 million as furniture allowances, vowing that no one found wanting in the act would be spared.
Magu, who spoke to newsmen at the headquarters of JAMB at Bwari, after a courtesy visit to the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, however refused to delve deeper into the investigation.
Asked how far he has gone with investigation on the alleged low remittances by the board’s past registrars, he said:”I think it’s too early for me to comment on that, we are working. It’s too early for me to comment on that.”
While also responding to question on the level of investigation on alleged monthly diversion of N450 million as furniture allowances by some Vice Chancellors, the EFCC insisted that no one found wanting in the act would be spared. ” We would not spare anybody,” he said.
Earlier, in his mission statement to the board’s registrar, the anti-corruption czar said his visit was informed by three things chief among which was to partner the tertiary institutions examination body on fight against examination malpractices in the country.
According to him, the first reasons he was at JAMB was to commend Oloyede for transparancy he had brought to JAMB by remitting exactly what the board was generating to the government.
Second, he said he wanted to come and show appreciation to JAMB for the confirmation and promotion examinations for EFCC personnel it has been handling and to also hail the JAMB’s Registrar for the anti-corruption crusade he has been championing in the nation’s tertiary institutions examination body.
Hear him:”For showing that this is what is available and it should go to where it supposed to go, that’s very commendable and it shows a lot of transparency.
” I hope everybody will emulate what you have done when you said this money belongs to this people, give Caesar what is Caesar’s. I think it’s a very commendable efforts.”
“When you are fighting corruption, the best way to fight it is to mobilise and bring everybody on board. We want to invite everyone to join us in the fight against corruption, corruption is everywhere.
“You don’t have to do it the way I do it, you just have to find a way to do it,even if you educate the younger ones at home, you are still fighting corruption.
“But there are areas we can collaborate with JAMB in the fight against corruption and that is the area of examination malpractice.
“This is only the reason why I came here, I also came to thank you for the area JAMB has assisted us in arranging our confirmation examinations and also promotion examination. I’m sure it has taken a lot of efforts, a lot of resources in handling this.
“And since I’m here, I also want to use the opportunity to tell people that everybody has a role in fighting corruption, individually and collectively. At least, we must chase this monster out of this country, it’s a disaster, we don’t need it. It’s an evil, we don’t need it. Just do it the way you can,you don’t have to do it the way I do it. Chase it out, it must go because it has done a lot of damage to this country, a lot of destruction. Also everything that is going wrong in Nigeria is caused by corruption.
“Cancer itself is caused by corruption, if there was no corruption, there wouldn’t be this high rate of cancer. There wouldn’t be problem in out hospitals, there wouldn’t be need for our people to eat adulterated food. Corruption is the multiplier of every evil, every wrong doing can be attributed to the act of corruption. So we have the responsibility, everybody here.
“Even the media,the media has more responsibility in fighting corruption, they have to really help us to sensitise Nigerians that corruption is wrong.”
Responding, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who discribed Magu as a person who has dedicated his life in fighting corruption in the country, commended him for laying down his life to ensuring that corruption was completely eradicated in the country.
According to him, “If EFCC and ICPC were not established at all, maybe by now, the whole country would have been in a messiah situation than we are.
He added:” The commission has contributed greatly in at least creating a caution against just thinking that you can do it and go free. There’s fear.”
Oloyede said public servants serving under Buhari government were conscious of the fact that they were on step to prison if they failed to conduct themselves in line with the administration’s posture on corruption.
He said:”In those days when you were appointed into a position, the prayer was that God would make you to prosper in it, to build houses in it,to have more children, to have more wives. But today, in Buhari’s administration, when you are appointed, the first thing that comes your mind is that God should not allow you to be put in trouble because everybody is conscious of the fact that when you are in public office, you are closer to prison if you are not careful.
” That is enough consciousness, it means that the generality of the people without saying in so many words, are seeing, they are changing their narratives, they are changing their languages and their greetings to show that oh, if you are there, be careful. I believe that is going enough for the crusade against corruption. ”
He spoke further:” Many people may have different opinions about how and approach to it, the truth is that we are going to sink the boat if we do not do anything radical about combating corruption on our land. And when you have a person or or team that is dedicated to fighting this corruption, my own view is that it’s a very risky thing.
“Yes, government can provide security, physical security in some cases only for you, even if they give to your wife, there will be some protest and some will even say it’s an abuse but they cannot provide for your children in school and the rest or anybody associated with you.
” So it’s a very risky game and anybody who wants to do it particularly in our clime must be ready to submit everything that he has to it. You must be ready to pay whatever cost that may comes one’s way.
“I know what it entails because if you are fighting corruption in a society where corruption is endemic, you are a stranger and everybody who considers himself as resident of the land would want to evict the stranger.
“On behalf of JAMB, I want to thank you and appreciate you for what you are doing for our great nation. And I believe that everybody who loves this country should join hands with you in fighting corruption and in ensuring that whatever is wrong through corruption is corrected.
“I want to believe that if we know the danger of corruption as Mr President has been saying it everywhere, the most popular was that he said if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us and kill the country.
“We believe that if we know the extent to which corruption has taken position in our land, and the network of corrupt people, the strength, we should not underestimate the fight-back.”
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