President Bola Tinubu has appointed the former Chief of Staff to erstwhile Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, Ola Olukoyede as the Chairman of the Commission.

Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, announced this in a statement on Thursday.

Ngelale explained that Olukoyede’s appointment is for a renewable term of four years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.

The presidential spokesman said the decision of the President to appoint Olukoyede as new EFCC boss was derived from the powers vested in him as established in section 2 (3) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.

“Mr. Ola Olukoyede is a lawyer with over twenty-two (22) years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence,” the statement said.

“He has extensive experience in the operations of the EFCC, having previously served as Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2023). As such, he fulfills the statutory requirement for appointment as Chairman of the EFCC.”

The appointment, according to the statement, followed the resignation of the detained immediate past Chairman of the Commission, AbdulRasheed Bawa.

On June 14, 2023, the President suspended Bawa indefinitely as the anti-graft agency boss.

Bawa was suspended “to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office”. The action followed “weighty” allegations of abuse of office levelled against him.

He has since been in the custody of the Department of the State Services without being charged to court.

The Director of Operations at the Commission, Abdulkarim Chukkol, had stepped in as acting EFCC chair following Bawa’s suspension and arrest.

The President has also approved the appointment of Muhammad Hammajoda to serve as the Secretary of the EFCC for a renewable term of five years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.

“Mr. Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda is a public administrator with extensive experience in public finance management who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Maiduguri and a Masters in Business Administration from the same university.