Olukoyede Eminently Qualified As EFCC Chairman – Falana

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has declared that the newly appointed chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, is eminently and constitutionally qualified for the job.

Speaking yesterday during a live appearance on the Channels Television’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily, Falana said that Olukoyede was qualified to lead the anti-graft commission having previously served in some high capacity positions in the agency as chief of staff to the EFCC chairman (2016-2018) and secretary to the commission (2018-2023) as well as having 22 years cognate experience.

He, however, expressed reservation that the choice of the new chairman of EFCC and that of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) coming from the same geopolitical zone was unlawful and against the federal character principle

He said, “There is no issue; the only issue that has been raised has to be considered by the government is that we have in this country, the Federal Character Commission Act and also by the virtue of Section 14 of the constitution, appointments must reflect Federal Character.

“If you are going to have the EFCC and the ICPC, the heads cannot come from the same zone. If there are two positions in the public service, one must go to the North, one must go to the South. If there are four, two must go to the South, two must go to the North. If there are six, one must go to each geopolitical zone. That is the law in Nigeria today.

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“So, I am not comfortable with the fact that the heads of the EFCC and the ICPC are from the same zone. Apart from that, Mr Ola Olukoyede is eminently qualified to head the EFCC. My colleagues who have criticised the appointment have not looked at the relevant provisions of the EFCC which is Section 2, which provides that the chairman must at least be an assistant commissioner of police or his equivalent in the security service or law enforcement agency.

“The law doesn’t state that the cognate experience must be in that agency,” the senior lawyer added.

LEADERSHIP reports that there have been divergent views on the legality and constitutionality of the appointment of the new EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, by President Bola Tinubu, with some arguing that he was not a career security or law enforcement personnel with up to 15 years of cognate experience as the EFCC Act demands.