On Friday, the House of Representatives issued a 5-day ultimatum to Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), demanding his presence to account for his performance since taking office.
The notice was issued by Hon. Obinna Onwusibe, Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Crimes, following the committee’s oversight visit to the EFCC headquarters in Jabi, Abuja. Lawmakers were dismayed by Olukoyede’s absence despite prior notification of the oversight visit.
During the visit, a staff member informed the lawmakers that the EFCC had been called to an emergency at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but did not provide further details.
The committee has given Olukoyede until Tuesday to appear with his management team to discuss the Commission’s budget performance and any challenges it may be facing.
Despite attempts by senior EFCC personnel to address the situation, the committee members, visibly frustrated, chose not to enter the headquarters and returned to the National Assembly.
Hon. Onwusibe spoke to reporters, stating, “We have just completed an oversight visit to the EFCC headquarters as part of our duties over the EFCC and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). We had informed the EFCC last week about today’s visit.
“The purpose of the visit was to review the EFCC’s budget performance as allocated by the National Assembly and to examine other related issues and challenges. To our surprise, only subordinate staff were present, and neither the Chairman nor the Zonal Commanders we had requested were there.
“The committee has decided to suspend the oversight visit and has resolved to summon the EFCC Chairman and his team to appear before us by next Tuesday. An official letter will be sent inviting him to address the committee.
“The integrity and operations of the 10th National Assembly are of utmost importance to us. We have repeatedly sought information and documents from the Commission without adequate response. This was a key issue we intended to address today. We expect the EFCC to comply and appear before us on Tuesday for further discussions.”
