Tinubu’s EFCC chair appointment breaks with tradition and law

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Olanipekun Olukoyede as new chairman of the anti-graft body, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mr Olukoyede will replace Abdulrasheed Bawa, who is currently being held by the State Security Service over “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him,” as described by the government in June when he was arrested.

The president’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, said in a statement on Thursday that Mr Bawa resigned. He did not say when that happened.

Mr Tinubu also appointed Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda as secretary of the commission.

Breaking with tradition and law

Mr Olakoyede, from Ekiti state, is the first person from southern Nigeria to be appointed head the commission. Successive chairpersons of the agency have since its inception been from the northern part of the country.

The pioneer chairman Nuhu Ribadu, who is National Security Adviser, is from Adamawa, as one of his successors, Ibrahim Lamorde. Chairperson Farida Waziri is from Benue, while Ibrahim Magu, is a native of Borno. Mr Bawa is from Kebbi.

More critically, the appointment raises questions about Mr Olukoyede’s qualification for the office.

The EFCC Act requires a chairperson of the commission to 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.” The appointee is required to have at least 15 years of experience.

While not a current or former member of a traditional security agency, Mr Olukoyede served in the EFCC, a law enforcement agency, as chief of staff to Mr Magu. He served between 2016 and 2018, before being appointed secretary until 2021, still leaving him short of the required experience.

The presidency statement said, incorrectly, that Mr Olukoyede served till 2023.

The statement says he has “over twenty-two (22) years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence.”

“He has extensive experience in the operations of the EFCC, having previously served as Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2023). As such, he fulfills the statutory requirement for appointment as Chairman of the EFCC,” Mr Ngelale wrote.

Mr Hammajoda holds an MBA from the University of Maiduguri. He previously taught at Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa and worked as a banker.