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Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has described President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Ola Olukoyede and Prof Bolaji Owasanoye as unlawful.
The President appointed Olukoyede and Owasanoye as chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) respectively.
Both Olukoyede and Owasanoye hailed from the southwest geopolitical region.
Speaking on their appointments on Monday, October 16, 2023, during a live appearance on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily programme, Falana said their appointments did not reflect the federal character.
The lawyer said if the chairman of the EFCC is from the northern region, the chairman of the ICPC must come from the southern region.
“If you are going to have the EFCC and the ICPC, the heads cannot come from same zone. If there are two positions in the public service, one must go to the North, and one must go to the South. If there are four, two must go to the South, and two must go to the North. If there are six, one must go to each geopolitical zone. That is the law in Nigeria today,” Falana said.
Contrary to the claim that Olukoyede is not qualified to be appointed as the EFCC chairman, Falana said the anti-graft boss is qualified for the position, but he is not comfortable with heads of both anti-graft agencies being southwesterners.
“I am not comfortable with the fact that the heads of the EFCC and the ICPC are from the same zone. Apart from that, Mr Ola Olukoyede is eminently qualified to head the EFCC. My colleagues who have criticised the appointment have not looked at the relevant provisions of the EFCC which is Section 2.”
President Tinubu appointed Olukoyede as the new EFCC chairman on Thursday, October 12, 2023.