Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has urged the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, to step down from his position.
Speaking via a statement on Wednesday, Frank lamented that the anti-graft agency had become an appendage of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, the EFCC under Olukoyede had acted in ways contrary to the law, bringing “embarrassment and discredit” to the Commission through alleged selective enforcement and political compromises.
Frank said the line between an independent anti-corruption agency and an extension of the ruling party had become increasingly blurred, claiming the EFCC now appeared to facilitate political negotiations rather than prosecute financial crimes.
To support his claims, he referenced several high-profile cases, starting with former Delta State Governor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
He said Okowa was aggressively investigated while in the opposition, but that the case lost momentum after he reportedly met with EFCC officials and later defected to the APC. Frank added that Okowa was subsequently appointed a “Renewed Hope Ambassador.”
Frank 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 themselves politically with the ruling party, accusing the EFCC of acting as a mediator instead of 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.
“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,” he stated.