President Muhammadu Buhari has effectively ended the career of Mohammed Umar Abba who was appointed on July 10, 2020 amidst suggestions that he would be confirmed as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The president has also, with the nomination of AbdulRasheed Bawa, to the Senate for confirmation, as the substantive chairman of the commission put an end to speculations that the presidency is considering the appointment of a southerner into the top position for the first time.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said on Tuesday, in a statement, that the president has forwarded the name of Abba to the Senate for confirmation.
Adesina said “President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Senate to confirm Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa as substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In a letter to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, the President said he was acting in accordance with Paragraph 2(3) of Part1, CAP E1 of EFCC Act 2004.
“Bawa, 40, is a trained EFCC investigator with vast experience in the investigation and prosecution of Advance Fee Fraud cases, official corruption, bank fraud, money laundering, and other economic crimes.
“He has undergone several specialized trainings in different parts of the world, and was one of the pioneer EFCC Cadet Officers in 2005. Bawa holds a B.Sc degree in Economics, and Masters in International Affairs and Diplomacy,” the statement said
Umar Abba has been acting as the boss of the anti-graft agency after President Buhari removed Ibrahim Magu over corruption related allegations and insubordination to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. He has been found guilty of the charges by the Justice Ayo Salami presidential panel, which two months ago submitted its report to President Buhari.
Bawa’s nomination has been widely applauded by many who said he’s a round peg in a round hole, considering his sterling performance as a top investigator in the EFCC. Among other things, Bawa who joined the agency as a cadet in 2005 is said to be part of the crack team of elite investigators responsible for the recovery of billions of naira for the federal government, through successful prosecution of high profile cases.
His appointment, however, came on the crest of clamour by many Nigerians for a southerner to be appointed into the position by the president, as there are non-northerners in the EFFC that can rightly fit in to the job.
Since former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Nuhu Ribadu as the chairman of the commission in 2003, successive Chairmen of the commission have all been chosen from the northern part of the country.
Following the removal of Ribadu by late President Umaru Yar’adua in 2007, Ibrahim Lamorde was appointed as acting chairman until Farida Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG was appointed as substantive chairman by the then president. The former police top notch was later sacked by President Goodluck Jonathan, who chose in her stead, Lamorde, who was at the time, head of Operations to head the commission.
Six months after he became president on November 8, 2015 Buhari sacked Lamorde and appointed Ibrahim Magu who remained in acting position for more than four years, because the Senate failed to confirm, until last June when the crisis of confidence between him and the Malami eventually led to his ouster by the president, who directed Abba to act in his place.
The appointment of Abba, however, generated controversy as many Nigerians began to ask why the president would choose another northerner even when it’s obvious that there are many southerners who are qualified to hold the position.
The 2002 EFCC Act gives the president the power to appoint a senior police officer, at least with the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Police to head the commission.
Before Umar was directed to take over from Magu, many names were mentioned as possible replacements of the controversial Magu, among them the Secretary of the Commission, Ola Olukoyede, who’s from Nigeria’s south west. Some APC top notch from the south east and south west, the magazine learnt, have been lobbing the president to appoint one of their own into the position since Magu ran into problem with the presidency.
The argument, then, was that Olukoyede is the most senior in the commission and should be allowed to act as the chairman, pending the appointment of a substantive chairman.
The agitation became stronger following the appointment of new Service Chiefs by the president who left out the south east. Even though the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Lucky Irabor is Igbo, the leaders from the zone insist that he’s from Delta state, south south Nigeria.
Not a few insist that the appointment of an Igbo man as EFCC chairman, for instance, could have somehow remove the shadow cast on President Buhari’s administration because of his penchant to always chose persons from a particular part of the country into choice government positions.
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