The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, has fired the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, and appointed Ola Olukoyede as Executive Chairman.
In addition, President Tinubu appointed Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda as the commission’s Secretary for an initial five-year term, subject to Senate confirmation.
This was stated in a statement issued yesterday by Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.
Olukoyede, a lawyer and the Lead Pastor of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of Refuge, Lagos, is the second non-police officer and the first Christian to serve as chairman of the anti-corruption agency.
Nuhu Ribadu, retired AIG, presided over the EFCC from 2003 to 2007; Mrs. Farida Waziri, retired AIG, from 2008 to 2011; Ibrahim Lamorde, retired DIG, from 2012 to 2015; and Abdulrasheed Bawa, 2021 to 2023.
The statement read: "By the powers vested in President Bola Tinubu as established in section 2 (3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004, that “the Chairman and members of the Commission, other than ex-officio members, shall be appointed by the President,” President Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Ola Olukoyede as the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for a renewable term of five years.
"Mr. Ola Olukoyede is an attorney with over 22 years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and fraud management and corporate intelligence specialist.
"He has extensive knowledge of EFCC operations, having served as Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2023). Consequently, he satisfies the statutory prerequisite for appointment as Chairman of the EFCC.
"Mr. Olukoyede was appointed following the resignation of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
"Additionally, President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda to serve as the Secretary of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for an initial term of five years, subject to Senate confirmation.
Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda is a public administrator with extensive experience in public finance administration. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maiduguri.
"He began his career as a professor at Mubi Federal Polytechnic. From there, he entered the finance industry, including stints at the now-defunct Allied Bank and Standard Trust Bank.
“President Bola Tinubu charges the new leadership of the EFCC to justify the confidence reposed in them for this important national assignment, as a newly reenergized war on corruption waged through a reformed institutional architecture in the anti-corruption sector continues to be a central pillar of the President’s Renewed Hope agenda.”