Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has denied claims that the agency is being used as a political tool by President Bola Tinubu to intimidate members of the opposition.
Reacting to concerns raised following the recent defection of top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) figures to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olukoyede insisted that the EFCC operates independently and without political interference.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, the anti-graft boss said, “If you check the statistics of our work, the area of investigation, prosecution, particularly high-profile cases, you will perhaps find more members of the ruling party in some of the cases we have done. So, we must be judged fairly.”
“You will find prominent members of the ruling party as part of the people we have investigated and filed charges against. So, for us to close our eyes to people who perhaps are not members of the ruling political party will be unfair to us and will be an injustice,” he added.
The defection of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor and former vice-presidential candidate of the PDP, Ifeanyi Okowa, along with other elected officials to the APC on April 23, had sparked criticisms. Some opposition leaders alleged they were coerced using institutions like the EFCC.
Olukoyede, however, dismissed the accusations, describing them as deliberate distractions from the administration’s efforts.
“These allegations are just attempts to distract a working president,” he said. “The man doesn’t have time for these issues. People are just trying to distract the government.”
Highlighting the President’s focus, the EFCC boss stated: “I think Nigerians should appreciate the kind of president we have at this time, and I am being serious about it.
It is not because I am occupying this position. Anyone who would be sincere, particularly those who work with Mr President… anytime you see Mr President, the body language is, ‘Look, what have you done?’ ‘How much have you recovered?’”
Olukoyede reiterated that President Tinubu has shown no interest in interfering with the agency’s work and is instead preoccupied with performance and accountability.
“He doesn’t want to hear anything apart from performance,” Olukoyede emphasized.
