Bawa: If You Visit EFCC Headquarters, You Will Think You Are In Northern Nigeria, Says Chuks Akunna

Veteran journalist and public affairs analyst Chuks Akunna has questioned the rationale behind the preference for the northern region when picking those who will head the anti-graft agency, amid the ongoing uproar that has followed the suspension of EFCC Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa.

On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, news surfaced claiming that President Tinubu had suspended Bawa due to corruption suspicions.

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The beleaguered head of the EFCC was arrested shortly after his suspension by DSS agents.

Akunna, Executive Director of The Authority Newspaper, responded to Bawa’s suspension in an interview on Africa Independent Television’s ‘Kaakaki’ programme on Thursday, where he noted that only northerners have been chosen to head the EFCC since its creation, and that this ethnic bias is equally being extended to its recruitment policy.

He questioned whether the consistent northern origin of EFCC chairs since the agency’s founding was a coincidence or deliberate.

He said: “Today, if you go to the EFCC Headquarters, you can have the impression that you are in the north because Hausa is so widely spoken there. This organisation is geared entirely towards the Arctic.

“Isn’t it time for the EFCC to expand its recruitment efforts to other parts of the world? The southwest, deep south, and far east should all be on our radar. Are we implying that there is a complete absence of skilled labour in these areas? Putting Bawa aside, the President has a fantastic chance to make amends for all the wrongs that have been committed via that organisation.”