Name Of Who Tinubu Plans To Appoint As EFCC Chairman Leaks Amid Yorubanization Knocks

President Bola Tinubu is reportedly poised to appoint Olanipekun Olukoyede as the substantive chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a move expected to spark controversy due to concerns over Olukoyede’s qualifications for the position.

Besides that, this move is coming at a time when Tinubu has been receiving knocks over the Yorubanization of key positions in the federal government. There have been accusations that since taking over power, Tinubu has been appointing Yoruba people into top positions while neglecting some other regions.

In this case, Olukoyede, a lawyer, previously served as the secretary of the anti-graft agency during Ibrahim Magu’s tenure as the acting chair. Both Olukoyede and Magu were suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020 and were never reinstated.

Sources within the presidency confirmed Tinubu’s decision, although the official announcement is pending. Olukoyede’s appointment, subject to Senate confirmation, is expected to be made public soon. President Tinubu had earlier suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa as EFCC chair and appointed Abdulkarim Chukkol as the acting head.

Born in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria, on October 14, 1969, Olukoyede is 54 years old. He was nominated by former President Muhammadu Buhari as the Secretary to EFCC in 2018, a move that stirred controversy in the Senate due to allegations of procedural irregularities.

Olukoyede previously worked at the law firm of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo before joining EFCC. He is an experienced lawyer with expertise in compliance management, corporate intelligence, fraud management, and anti-corruption research and analysis. Olukoyede is also a certified fraud examiner and a member of the Fraud Advisory Panel (UK) and the Federal Government Technical Committee on the Repositioning of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.