EFCC ICPC Chairmen Can’t Come From Same Zone – Falana SAN
The chairmen of the two anti-graft federal agencies in Nigeria, according to human rights lawyer and senior advocate for Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, are from the same geopolitical zone, which goes against the federal character principle.
According to the senior attorney, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) chairman should be elected from the southern region if the Economic and Financial Crimes Committee (EFCC) is based in the northern region.
The heads cannot come from the same zone if you want the EFCC and ICPC, Mr. Falana said on Monday during a live broadcast of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program.
Ola Olukoyede, the recently appointed chairman of the EFCC, is “eminently qualified” to lead the anti-graft organization, according to Mr. Falana, who has 22 years of relevant experience in addition to having previously held the positions of Chief of Staff to the organization’s Chairman (2016) and Secretary (2018).
The South-West geopolitical zone is represented by Mr. Olukoyede and Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), the ICPC chairman who has been in office since February 2019.
President Bola Tinubu named Mr. Olukoyede as the new leader of the EFCC on October 12, 2023, with a four-year term in office initially, pending Senate confirmation.
Abdulrasheed Bawa, a troubled former EFCC boss who was suspended on June 14, 2023 and held by the Department of State Services (DSS) due to “weighty” allegations of office abuse leveled against him, announced his resignation shortly after Mr. Olukoyede did.
Mr. Olukoyede’s appointment has drawn criticism from a number of attorneys and analysts, who claim that he is unqualified to lead the EFCC and is not an Assistant Commissioner of Police.
However, Mr. Falana claimed that because Olukoyede had previously held a high position within the organization, he is qualified to lead the anti-graft commission.
The Federal Character Commission Act, which we have in this country, and the requirement that appointments reflect federal character under Section 14 of the constitution, are the only issues that need to be taken into consideration by the government.
The heads of the EFCC and ICPC cannot originate from the same zone if they are to exist. If there are two positions in the government, one must go north and the other south. If there are four, two must travel south and the other two north. One must visit each geopolitical zone if there are six. In Nigeria, that is the current law.
