Daniel Bwala, spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has interrogated the rationale behind the appointment of Ola Olukoyede as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Bwala in an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday foresees an ineffective EFCC under Olukoyede who has never investigated a single financial related case prior to his appointment.
It would be recalled last Thursday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Olukoyede to replace the former chairman of the anti-graft agency Abdulrasheed Bawa who was suspended due to some allegations levelled against him.
Olukoyede’s appointment was welcomed with criticisms of not meeting the required level of qualification as clearly stated in the law.
According to Section 2 of the EFCC Act the criteria for the appointment of a new chairman states that the person must have been a staff of the commission for not more than 15 years but Olukoyede a lawyer worked as chief of staff to Ibrahim Magu, the former chairman for two years between 2016 and 2018 and a secretary to the commission between 2018 and 2023.
However, the presidency in reaction to the criticisms defended the appointment of Olukoyede.
In a post on X by the senior special assistant to the president for public engagement, Fredrick Nwabufo, he defended Olukoyede’s appointment.
According to him, the appointment was approved by Tinubu in accordance with Section 2(3) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.
He said, Olukoyede was a member of a law enforcement agency – the EFCC, as stipulated in the EFCC Act, and as such, satisfied every legal detail to be appointed chairman.
Meanwhile, given the sensitivity of the agency such as the EFCC, Bwala, a lawyer, faulted the appointment of Olukoyede who had no experience in law enforcement or security, describing his qualification as insufficient.
Bwala stated, “This is the point; there is a baseline. The baseline is that the person must come from a security or law enforcement agency of the government. The reference is the government, not the private sector.
“The security is one that is covered by the National Security Agency Act which comprises DIA, NIA and SSS. Law enforcement compromises both EFCC, the police, the NSCDC and the rest. He didn’t have power to hold guns, he never investigated a single case because he did not come as an operative.”
