Who Is Ola Olukoyede?
Ola Olukoyede, full name Olanipekun Olukoyede, is the Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was born on 14 October 1969 in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu appointed him to lead the commission on 12 October 2023.
What Is Ola Olukoyede’s Educational Background?
Ola Olukoyede studied at Lagos State University and the University of Lagos. He also trained at the Institute of Arbitration ICC in Paris, France, and completed executive education at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
What Was Ola Olukoyede’s Career Before the EFCC?
Ola Olukoyede is a lawyer with over 22 years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and certified fraud examiner. He worked at Ecodev Investment, a finance and investment company, for about five years before joining Legal Research and Corporate Development Projects Consulting. In 2008, he established Global Compliance GRC, a governance, risk, and legal consulting firm, along with his own law firm, Ola Olukoyede & Co. He also worked as a lawyer at the law firm of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo before returning to the EFCC.
What Roles Did Ola Olukoyede Hold Within the EFCC Before Becoming Chairman?
Ola Olukoyede served as Chief of Staff to then-EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu from 2016 to 2018. The Senate confirmed him as Secretary to the Commission on 28 November 2018, a role he held until 2023. This internal experience fulfilled the statutory requirement for his later appointment as chairman.
How Was Ola Olukoyede Appointed EFCC Chairman?
President Bola Tinubu approved Ola Olukoyede’s appointment as Executive Chairman of the EFCC on 12 October 2023, for a renewable four-year term pending Senate confirmation. The appointment followed the resignation of suspended chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa. Olukoyede became the first head of the EFCC from Nigeria’s southern region since the commission’s creation.
What Other Affiliations Does Ola Olukoyede Hold?
Ola Olukoyede is a member of the Fraud Advisory Panel in the United Kingdom and a member of the Federal Government Technical Committee on the Repositioning of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit. He is also a pastor within the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
Is Ola Olukoyede Still EFCC Chairman?
Based on the most recent available reporting, Ola Olukoyede remains the sitting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, with public activity in the role recorded as recently as April 2026, including statements on bank lending practices and anti-corruption initiatives.