|By Adejumo Adekunle
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has demanded the resignation of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, accusing him of presiding over selective prosecution and politicising the anti-graft agency.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Frank alleged that the EFCC had abandoned its constitutional mandate and was now operating as a political tool of the ruling APC. He claimed the Commission’s actions under Olukoyede had brought “embarrassment and discredit” to the institution through alleged selective enforcement of the law and political compromises.
Frank argued that the boundary between an independent anti-corruption agency and the ruling party had become dangerously blurred, insisting that the EFCC now appeared more focused on facilitating political negotiations than prosecuting financial crimes. He further alleged that the Commission had assumed the role of mediating the defection of politicians from opposition parties to the APC.
To back his claims, Frank cited several high-profile cases, beginning with former Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. He alleged that Okowa was vigorously investigated while in the opposition but that the case stalled after he reportedly met with EFCC officials and later defected to the APC. According to Frank, Okowa was subsequently appointed a “Renewed Hope Ambassador.”
Frank also referenced former governors Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, saying they were invited by the EFCC but faced no further public scrutiny after what he described as undisclosed engagements with the Commission.
He challenged the EFCC to demonstrate the same level of transparency and urgency in other ongoing cases, naming former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, and Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance Yakubu Adamu, among others.
The former APC spokesperson further alleged that individuals accused of looting public funds were being rewarded with appointments under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. He claimed that seized assets had been quietly returned to suspects who aligned politically with the ruling party, accusing the EFCC of acting more as a mediator than a prosecuting authority.
“We have unfortunately reached a point in our country where it has become difficult to distinguish between a commission statutorily saddled with the responsibility of fighting economic and financial crimes and one that appears to operate as an arm of the ruling party,” Frank stated.
He added that “looters of public resources are consistently rewarded with juicy appointments, in apparent collusion with a commission that now serves as a mediator rather than a prosecutor.”
