The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of the nominees for the Secretary and Board members of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission submitted by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

One of them was Yahaya Muhammad, who was said to have started his primary school before he was born.

The Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, however, cleared the nominee and others in the report presented by Senator Suleiman Kwari (Kaduna North).

Earlier, Senator Hassan Hadejia from Jigawa North East, had said that the Curriculum Vitae submitted by Muhammad indicated that he started school before he was born.

Hadejia said, “Let me bring to the notice of the House, certain discrepancies in the report that are contradictory, especially with regard to one of the nominees, Alhaji Yahaya Muhammad, on page 8.

“The nominee, according to the record before us, started his primary school before he was born. There is also an overlap in the sequence of his educational experience because here, he was born on 29th September, 1969 and he started his Central Primary school in 1968.

“He was in Borno Teachers College from 1975 and 1988 while simultaneously he was in the College of Administration Studies from 1980 to 1981.

“If these are typographical errors, Mr (Senate) President, maybe we should have them corrected for the sake of our record.”

The Senate, however, confirmed the appointment of Muhammad.

Also, George Ekungu from Cross River State was confirmed as Secretary of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Also confirmed by the red chamber are Luqman Muhammed (Edo); Anumba Adaeze (Enugu); Kola Adesina (Kwara) and Yahaya Muhammad (Yobe) as board members of the EFCC.

Kwari had told the senators that the nominees were thoroughly screened and found worthy of holding the positions.

The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, who presided over the plenary, congratulated the nominees.

Credit: PUNCH