The Senate is currently undertaking the screening of Mr. Ola Olukoyede, the nominee for the position of Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as he is currently present at the National Assembly.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Olukoyede following the suspension of the former head of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, nearly four months ago.
Tinubu recently authorised Olukoyede’s appointment as the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, and the nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.
Some lawyers, however, said Tinubu breached the law by nominating Olukoyede, saying it was illegal.
According to the lawyers, Olukoyede does not belong to the category of those the law specified that should be appointed as EFFC Chairman.
A lawyer, Daniel Bwala, said he appointment ran foul of the provisions of Section 2 of the EFCC Act, which requires that the person to be appointed as EFCC Chairman must, amongst other things, be a serving or retired member of any security or law enforcement agency; have 15 years of cognate experience in law enforcement, and must not be below the rank of assistant commissioner of police.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Sani Katu, described the appointment as illegal, saying he would be among those that would challenge it.
“There are laid-down rules and guiding principles for the appointment of the EFCC chairman. These rules are contained in the Act, which specifies that the appointee must be either a retired ACP of a rank similar to that of an ACP. This is a law that must be enforced.
“If the law is not obeyed during the appointment, it implies that the appointment is unlawful.
The president, however, went ahead to nominate the lawyer.
