Appoint EFCC Chairman with impeccable pedigree, group tells Tinubu

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A group, Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations (COACO), has advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the qualities to be considered in appointing the next Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying that the person to be appointed must be “a person of impeccable pedigree in public service without an ounce of baggage trailing him or her from his/her previous positions.”

The coalition said it had become necessary for it to do so because the Commission remains “the flagship of Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption struggles to kill that monster that threatens our very existence as a nation.”

COACO gave the counsel in an open letter to the president signed by its leaders, namely Comrade Debo Adeniran, who is the Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) and Comrade Olufemi Lawson, Executive Director, Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) and Spokesman for the body.

This was just as the coalition commended President Tinubu for respecting the overwhelming public opinion of Nigerians against the misuse of office by the erstwhile EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, by suspending him and ordering a comprehensive investigation into all the grave allegations leveled against him.

The Anti-Corruption Organizations, while noting that EFCC had done a lot to earn its reputation locally and respectability internationally which the suspended Chairman was beginning to rubbish before the public outcry against him by concerned stakeholders, demanded that the next EFCC Chairman be appointed by the president must be a thorough professional with capacity to deliver on the core mandates of the EFCC.

Besides, it said the person must also possess personal integrity and someone does not give to ethnoreligious sentiments that could compromise the execution of his/her official assignments.

“Your Excellency, the EFCC is the flagship of Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption struggles to kill that monster that threatens our very existence as a nation. The Commission has done a lot to earn its reputation locally and respectability internationally which the suspended Chairman was beginning to rubbish before the public outcry against him by concerned stakeholders which we spearheaded despite the threats of retribution by supporters of corruption.

“It is our considered opinion that in appointing the next EFCC Chairman, a few qualities should take precedence.

“First, the president must look for a person of impeccable pedigrees in public service without an ounce of baggage trailing him or her from his/her previous positions.

“He/she must be a thorough professional with an indubitable capacity to deliver on the core mandates of the EFCC. He or she must also possess personal integrity and someone not give to ethnoreligious sentiments that could compromise the execution of his/her official assignments,” the coalition said.

Speaking further, COACO, in the letter, strongly noted that experience was also of critical importance in this exercise, saying it was important for President Tinubu to consider field experience in choosing the next EFCC chairman.

The Anti-Corruption Organisations added that the next EFCC chairman must possess an advanced investigative profile with modern knowledge in forensic analysis and effective use of technology in detecting, preventing, exposing and prosecuting corruption cases and culprits.

The coalition, however, pledged to collaborate with such a credible new dispensation at the EFCC, saying it looked forward to the president taking its recommendations into consideration “as he shops for who comes in next as EFCC Chairman.

“Experience is also of critical importance in this exercise. It is important for the president to consider field experience in choosing the next EFCC chairman. The next EFCC chairman must possess an advanced investigative profile with modern knowledge in forensic analysis and effective use of technology in detecting, preventing, exposing and prosecuting corruption cases and culprits.

“We pledge to collaborate with such credible new dispensation at the EFCC. We look forward to the president taking our recommendations into consideration as he shops for who comes in next as EFCC Chairman,” COACO stated.

When contacted, the Convener of the Coalition, Comrade Mark Adebayo, confirmed the open letter, saying that the struggle to kill corruption before it kills the citizens was a continuous battle without relenting “until the Augean stable of corruption is totally cleaned up by the combined forces of patriots.”

“The struggle to kill corruption before it kills us all is a continuous battle and we shall not relent until the Augean stable of corruption is totally cleaned up by the combined forces of patriots,” Adebayo assured.

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