Olukoyede, first southerner to head EFCC 

 

 

Nearly 20 years after the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), it has got its first chairman from the South. He is Ola Olukoyede. 

 

He was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, according to a statement by presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale. 

 

Ngelale said Olukoyede is a lawyer with over 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.

 

“Olukoyede’s appointment follows the resignation of the suspended Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa,” he said.

 

Also, the presidential spokesman said President Tinubu has approved the appointment of Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda to serve as Secretary of the anti-graft Commission for a renewable term of five years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.

 

“Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda is a public administrator with extensive experience in public finance management who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Maiduguri and a Masters in Business Administration from the same university.

 

“He began his career as a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi. From there, he went into banking, including successful stints at the defunct Allied Bank and Standard Trust Bank.

 

“President Bola Tinubu tasks the new leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to justify the confidence given to them in this important national assignment as a newly invigorated war on corruption undertaken through a reformed institutional architecture in the anti-corruption sector remains a central pillar of the President’s Renewed Hope agenda,” he said.

 

PoliticsNow recalls that Nuhu Ribadu, who is now the National Security Adviser (NSA), was the first EFCC chairman. He was succeeded by Farida Waziri, then Ibrahim Lamurde, later Ibrahim Magu and Abdulrasheed Bawa. Their tenures were always cut short by succeeding administrations.