27th April, 2024
By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
The executive chairman of the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has embarked on the restructuring of the anti-graft agency with the appointment of a Chief of Staff and Directors for each of the 14 Zonal Commands of the Commission.
Dele Oyewale, spokesperson for the EFCC announced this in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja.
According to the statement, in line with the restructuring, Olukoyede has appointed Mr. Michael Nzekwe, a former Commander of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC as his Chief of Staff.
The statement indicated that Nzekwe is a topnotch investigator, lawyer and a course one officer of the Commission has served in various departments in the anti-graft agency including Legal and Prosecution Department, Department of Operations (now Department of Investigations), Department of Internal Affairs ( now Department of Ethics and Integrity, Servicom, and Asset Forfeiture Department.
“A seasoned administrator, he has attended several trainings and courses home and abroad, including the Advance Defence Intelligence Officers Course organised by Defence Intel Agency, DIA. The appointment takes immediate effect and he has assumed duties,” the statement indicated.
The statment also indicated that as part of his restructuring and repositioning of the EFCC, Olukoyede has upgraded all the Zonal Commands of the Commission to the status of Departments, with each of them headed by a Director.
“To this effect, 14 new Directors have been appointed to head each of the Zonal Commands.
“Additionally, to bolster and fortify the security architecture of the Commission, the Security Unit of the EFCC has been upgraded to a Department with a seasoned officer appointed as Director, Security and Chief Security Officer.
Also, Olukoyede has created a new Department under his office headed by former Makurdi Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Mr. Friday Ebelo who also doubles as Director and Coordinator, Special Duties at the corporate headquarters of the Commission. The former Department of Internal Affairs has been renamed Department of Ethics and Integrity and minor reshuffling effected in some Departments at the headquarters.
The statement quoted Olukoyede as saying the ongoing restructuring is meant for the repositioning and strengthening of the EFCC to deliver on its assigned mandate optimally.