President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to appoint Olanipekun Olukoyede as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Olukoyede, a lawyer, served as secretary of the EFCC for two years under former acting chairman Ibrahim Magu.
He was suspended from office along with Magu in 2020 and has not been recalled.
Before his role as secretary, Olukoyede was Magu’s chief of staff.
His appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, is expected to be announced “very soon,” according to sources familiar with the development.
Olukoyede’s nomination is said to be controversial because he has no experience in law enforcement or investigation. He is also seen as being too close to Magu, who was himself a controversial figure.
However, Olukoyede’s supporters say he is a qualified lawyer with experience in compliance management, corporate intelligence, and fraud management, Premium Times reports. He is also said to be a certified fraud examiner.
If the Senate confirms his nomination, Olukoyede will be the first Nigerian from the South to lead the EFCC.
However, there are concerns that Mr Olukoyede may not be qualified for the job. There are statutory requirements for the appointment of the EFCC boss which Mr Olukoyede may not meet.
Section 2(3) of the EFCC Act, 2005, stipulates that a chairman of the commission “must be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; possess not less than 15 years experience.”
This comes barely four months after the president had suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa as the Chairman of the anti-graft agency.
Abdulkarim Chukkol, then director of operations, was appointed in an acting capacity.
Mr Bawa’s suspension, anchored on “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him” followed a conventional pattern of unceremonious removal of past EFCC bosses.
Mr Bawa has been in detention at the State Security Service (SSS) after he honoured the agency’s invitation for interrogation regarding the corruption allegation.
There are speculations that Mr Bawa has agreed to officially resign from office.
