Tinubu Appoints Unqualified Person As EFCC Chairman

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Olanipekun Olukoyede as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in violation of the law establishing the anti-corruption agency.

The president also approved the appointment of Muhammad Hammajoda as the Secretary of the EFCC on a renewable term of five years.

Both appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.

The appointments, announced in a statement by presidential spokesperson on Thursday, confirms PREMIUM TIMES exclusive report days earlier about Mr Tinubu’s plan to name Mr Olukoyede as the next EFCC chief in disregard for the law.

Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesperson who signed the statement, said Mr Olukoyede’s appointment followed the resignation of the immediate-past substantive chairman of the commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa.

Mr Bawa has been in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) facing investigations over undisclosed corruption allegations since his earlier suspension from office in June.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Olukoyede, although a former secretary of the EFCC and ex-chief of staff to the chairman of the commission, did not meet the requirements of section 2(3) of the EFCC Act, to be qualified for the appointment.

The law 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.”

Mr Olukoyede had no experience in any security or law enforcement agency until his first appointment at the EFCC in 2016, when he was appointed to serve as the Chief of Staff to then acting chairperson of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu. He held the position from 2016 to 2018.

He was subsequently appointed as the secretary of the commission in 2018 and served in that capacity up till 2020, when he was suspended from office by then President Muhammadu Buhari. He was suspended alongside Mr Magu and some other officials of the commission. He and Mr Magu were never recalled.