President Bola Tinubu’s impending appointment of Olanipekun Olukoyede as the substantive chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is expected to ignite controversy due to concerns surrounding the candidate’s qualifications for the role. Barring any unforeseen changes, Olukoyede, a lawyer, will assume this pivotal position.
Olukoyede previously served as the secretary of the anti-graft agency for two years during the tenure of Ibrahim Magu as the acting chair of the EFCC. Both Olukoyede and Magu were suspended from their positions by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020 and were never reinstated.
Before his role as secretary, Olukoyede served as Magu’s chief of staff, further deepening his connection to the organization.
Sources have indicated that President Tinubu’s announcement of Olukoyede’s appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, will be made public in the near future.
It is noteworthy that President Tinubu suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa from the EFCC chairmanship in June of the same year and appointed Abdulkarim Chukkol, then director of operations, in an acting capacity. Bawa’s suspension was rooted in “weighty allegations of abuse of office.”
For the past four months, Abdulrasheed Bawa has remained in detention at the State Security Service (SSS) following his compliance with the agency’s invitation for questioning related to the corruption allegations.
Speculations abound that Bawa may opt to officially resign from office in light of these developments.