Tinubu Reportedly Set to Appoint Olanipekun Olukoyede as New EFCC Chairman

• President Bola Tinubu is reportedly planning to appoint Olanipekun Olukoyede as the substantive chairman of the EFCC
• The appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, is expected to be announced soon, according to sources
• However, there is controversy surrounding Olukoyede's qualifications for the role, as statutory requirements stipulate that the EFCC chairman should have at least 15 years of experience

State House, Abuja - President Bola Tinubu is reportedly set to appoint Olanipekun Olukoyede as the substantive chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), barring any last-minute change of plan.

Premium Times reports that a "top presidency source" said “President Tinubu has chosen Olanipekun Olukoyede for appointment as substantive chairman of the EFCC".

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The newspaper added that another source also confirmed the development and hinted that Olukoyede’s appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, would be made public “very soon”.

EFCC chair: Controversy over Olukoyede's planned appointment

According to Premium Times, the Nigerian president will set off a controversy over the candidate’s qualifications for the job.

Legit.ng gathers that Olukoyede, a lawyer, had served as secretary of the anti-graft agency for two years during Ibrahim Magu's reign as the commission's acting chair.

Olukoyede and Magu were suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020 and were never recalled.

Before his secretary role, Olukoyede had served as Magu’s chief of staff.

How Tinubu suspended Bawa as EFCC chair

Recall that President Tinubu, in June this year, suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa as EFCC chair and in his place, appointed Abdulkarim Chukkol, then director of operations, in an acting capacity.

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Bawa was suspended following “weighty allegations of abuse of office".

Since his suspension, Bawa has been in detention at the State Security Service (SSS) after he honoured the agency’s invitation for interrogation regarding the corruption allegation.

It was gathered that Bawa has agreed to resign from office officially.

Controversy: Is Olukoyede qualified to serve as EFCC chairman?

There are concerns that Olukoyede may not be qualified for the job.

Premium Times noted that vthere are statutory requirements for the appointment of the EFCC boss, which Olukoyede may not meet.

Section 2(3) of the EFCC Act, 2005, stipulates that a chairman of the commission “must be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; possess not less than 15 years experience.”

However, Olukoyede has played more administrative roles in EFCC for less than a decade and cannot be said to have attained 15 years of cognate experience.

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Tinubu told to release Bawa “without further delay”

Meanwhile, Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 and 2023 elections, on Friday, August 11, asked President Tinubu to immediately release Bawa.

Sowore, who made this demand via his verified Twitter handle, accused the incumbent administration of playing politics with Bawa’s case.

The media entrepreneur-turned-politician stated that Nigerian authorities fail to level any charge against Bawa, which “smacks of political persecution”.

Source: Legit.ng