Public Outcry Over Olukoyede’s Proposed Confirmation as EFCC Chairman

Ola Olukoyede and Muhammad Hammajoda’s nominations for the positions of substantive Chairman and Secretary of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were formally presented to the Senate on Tuesday in a letter from President Bola Tinubu. The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, read the President’s letter during the plenary session.

Last week, the Presidency made an official announcement regarding Tinubu’s appointment of Olukoyede as the Chairman of the EFCC and Hammajoda as its Secretary. This appointment followed a suspension period of nearly four months for the former EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, by Tinubu.

In a statement endorsed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, “Mr Olukoyede’s appointment followed the resignation of the suspended Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa.”

In the meantime, on Tuesday, activists from the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights gathered at the National Assembly premises to protest against the selection of Olukoyede as the prospective EFCC Chairman. 

The group’s National Secretary, Adebayo Ogorry, asserted during the demonstration that the decision to appoint Olukoyede went against the current regulations governing the appointment of the EFCC Chairman.

Ogorry said, “The action of President Tinubu in making the appointment of Mr. Olukoyede into such a high office with enormous responsibility as the Chairman of the EFCC in flagrant breach of the provisions of the laws of the parliament is contrary to the oath he took on May 29, 2023, to protect and defend the laws of the nation.”