Meet New EFCC Chairman, Lawyer, Pastor and first southerner to head the Anti-graft agency

With the resignation of abdulrasheed Bawa as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), President Bola Tinubu has appointed a new head for the anti-graft agency.

In a statement on Thursday by presidential aide, Ajuri Ngelale, the President appointed Ola Olukoyede as the new EFCC chairman.

Olukoyede is not new to the agency. He served as the commission’s secretary between 2018 and 2023.

He also served as chief of staff to ex-EFCC chair, Ibrahim Magu, between 2016 and 2018.

LAWYER AND PASTOR

Olukoyede was born on October 14, 1969 in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti state. He attended Lagos State University, University of Lagos, Institute of Arbitration ICC – Paris, France, and the University of Harvard (Kennedy School of Executive Education). He is a lawyer with over 22 years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence.

In 2008, he established Global Compliance GRC, governance, risk and legal consulting outfit, where he managed as an attorney for investigation and civil litigations of fraud and corruption in international aid projects.

He worked at Ecodev Investment, a finance and investment company, for about five years before moving to Legal Research and Corporate Development Projects (LRCDP Consulting).

In 2008, he established his law firm, Ola Olukoyede & Co, from where he joined the EFCC.

He was a member of the Fraud Advisory Panel, in the United Kingdom, and also a member of the federal government technical committee on the repositioning of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

The 54-year-old is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

FIRST SOUTHERNER TO HEAD EFCC

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All EFCC chairpersons before Olukoyode — Nuhu Ribadu, Ms. Farida Waziri, Ibrahim Lamorde, Abdulrasheed Bawa — were northern Muslims, which makes him the first southerner and Christian, a pastor at that, to lead the agency.

Even Magu, Abdulkarim Chukkol, and Mohammed Umar, who served in acting capacities, were northerners and Muslims.