ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s president nominated a lawyer to head its anti-graft agency after President Bola Tinubu suspended the previous chief amid corruption allegations, his spokesperson said on Thursday.
Tinubu’s nomination of Ola Olukoyede, a former chief of staff to the previous head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), comes four months after he suspended indefinitely Abdulrasheed Bawa for alleged abuse of office.
The EFCC is tasked with investigating and prosecuting graft in Africa’s largest oil exporter and biggest economy, which has grappled with endemic corruption for decades.
If confirmed by the Senate, Olukoyede will take the reins of an agency that is leading extradition proceedings for former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, charged with receiving bribes in the form of cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets and the use of high-end properties in Britain in return for awarding oil contracts.
Nigerians blame corruption by the political elite for widespread poverty in the country, which is facing chronic dollar shortages, a high debt burden, double digit inflation and sluggish growth.
(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
