President Bola Tinubu is set to appoint Olanipekun Olukoyede as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), PREMIUM TIMES reports.
Quoting a top presidential source, the newspaper said “President Tinubu has chosen Olanipekun Olukoyede for appointment as substantive chairman of the EFCC,”
Olukoyede, a lawyer, served as secretary of the EFCC for two years under former acting chairman Ibrahim Magu.
He was suspended from office along with Magu in 2020 and has not been recalled.
Before his role as secretary, Olukoyede was Magu’s chief of staff.
His appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, is expected to be announced “very soon,” according to sources familiar with the development.
Olukoyede’s nomination is said to be controversial because he has no experience in law enforcement or investigation. He is also seen as being too close to Magu, who was himself a controversial figure.
However, Olukoyede’s supporters say he is a qualified lawyer with experience in compliance management, corporate intelligence, and fraud management, Premium Times reports. He is also said to be a certified fraud examiner.
If the Senate confirms his nomination, Olukoyede will be the first Nigerian from the South to lead the EFCC.
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.
Mr Bawa’s suspension, anchored on “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him” followed a conventional pattern of unceremonious removal of past EFCC bosses
