Ailing President Muhammadu Buhari met with the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, on Tuesday in a move that did little to calm fears about his health.
President Muhammadu @MBuhari receives briefing from GMD of the NNPC, Alhaji Maikanti Baru this afternoon at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) May 2, 2017
After being briefed by GMD of the NNPC Maikanti Baru, President Buhari also received another briefing from Minister of Justice, Malami SAN.
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) May 2, 2017
Buhari has not been seen in public since he attended the Juma’at prayer inside the Presidential Villa on April 21 and has not attended the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in three weeks.
Word from Aso Rock on Tuesday though is that Buhari is worried about the delay in the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Act by the National Assembly (NASS).
Malami stated this when he briefed State House correspondents on Tuesday on the outcome of a closed-door meeting with his boss.
According to him, the president noted that there had not been any expeditious determination on the passage of the anti-graft bill by the NASS.
“It’s a routine briefing of the president as it relates to general issues – the issues that have to do with anti-corruption.
“Mr. President is worried about the anti-corruption bills that are pending before the National Assembly overtime. There has not been any expeditious determination on the passage of the bills and indeed, the asset management agency was also part of the discussion.
“Mr President is worried that the assets that have been gathered over time by the agencies of government and that are responsible for the fight against corruption are scattered all over the place.
“Embedded in the Proceeds of Crime Bill is Asset Management Agency which is the agency put in place by the presidency for the purpose of the management of the associated assets that are recovered.
“So, Mr. President is indeed worried and the discussions bothered on how best we can handle it. There are limited issues that relate to the parastatals under the Ministry of Justice,” he said.
Malami said he also briefed the president on the report of the Electoral Reform Committee as well as other pending bills that were presented for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council as they relate to amendment to the electoral process.
He said the essence of the meeting was to seek the view of the president and “the direction as to what to do next as it relates to the Electoral Reform Committee report that has been submitted and to consider routine processes under the Ministry of Justice”.
On the presidential committee investigating the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Malami said the committee would submit its reports on May 3.
