Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has sacked the suspended chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, and appointed Ola Olukoyede, a lawyer and pastor, as the new head of the anti-graft agency. Tinubu also named Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda, a public administrator and former banker, as the secretary of the commission for a renewable term of five years.

The presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, announced the appointments in a statement on Friday, saying they were made in accordance with the EFCC Act of 2004. Olukoyede, who is the lead pastor of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of Refuge, Lagos, is the second non-police officer and first Christian to head the EFCC. He has over 22 years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence.

He has also served as the chief of staff and secretary to the former EFCC chairmen. He fulfills the statutory requirement for appointment as chairman of the EFCC, Ngelale said. Hammajoda holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s in business administration from the University of Maiduguri. He started his career as a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi. He later worked as a banker at the defunct Allied Bank and Standard Trust Bank.

Tinubu tasked the new leadership of the EFCC to justify the confidence given to them in this important national assignment. He said a newly invigorated war on corruption through a reformed institutional architecture in the anti-corruption sector remains a central pillar of his Renewed Hope agenda. The appointments come amid a series of corruption scandals involving high-profile officials and politicians in Nigeria. The EFCC has been accused of being selective and partisan in its investigations and prosecutions.

Bawa, who was appointed by Tinubu in February 2021, was suspended in August after he was accused of diverting funds recovered from looters. He denied the allegations and resigned on Thursday. The EFCC was established in 2003 to combat economic and financial crimes in Nigeria. It has recovered billions of naira from corrupt individuals and organizations since its inception.

The new EFCC boss, Olukoyede, said he would uphold the rule of law and respect human rights in his fight against corruption. He also promised to work with other stakeholders to ensure transparency and accountability in public service. He said he was confident that Nigeria would overcome its challenges and achieve its potential as a great nation under Tinubu’s leadership.

Source: Vanguard