20th February, 2021
By Ayorinde Oluokun with agency report
Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the top operative of Economics and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, nominated to the senate for confirmation as the chairman of the anti-graft agency by President Muhammadu Buhari has been promoted to the position of Chief Detective Superintendent, it has been gathered.
PR Nigeria reported that Bawa was among 88 operatives of the anti-graft agency promoted in an internal memo signed by one Femi Peter Gbarufu issued on Friday, titled, “Release of Promotion List.”
The memo further disclosed that promotion letters would be issued to the affected staff, as soon as possible by the Human Resources Unit while the operatives were promoted from Grade Level 13 Principal Detective Superintendent (PDS) to grade level 14 Deputy Chief Detective Superintendent (DCDS) Grade Level 14, effective from January 1, 2021.
The promotion was announced against ongoing controversies that Bawa may not be qualified for the position he was nominated for by the President because of ‘statutory’ impediment in the EFCC Act.
The impediment was in EFCC Establishment Act, Section 2a (ii) which stated that to be appointed as the Chairman of the Commission, a person must: “Be a serving or retired member of any security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent.”
Some analysts and lawyers have argued that Bawa did not qualify to be appointed as the chairman of the Commission since such equivalence in the EFCC is Grade Level 15, while his rank as a Principal Detective Superintendent as at the time he was nominated places him on Grade Level 13.
Indeed, a Lagos based lawyer, Osuagwu Ugochukwu has filed a suit to stop the Senate from proceeding with the confirmation of Bawa’s appointment based on the provision of the EFCC Act.
However, investigation shows that the rank of a Principal Detective Superintendent which is on Grade Level 13 is also equivalent to the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police and as such, Bawa may not have any problem scaling the screening hurdle at the Senate.
But PRNigeria quoted a source in EFCC as also saying Bawa’s new Rank is equivalent to the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).
“Bawa was recruited into EFCC in 2005 as one of the pioneer cadets and has spent 16 years as an operative. By virtue of his new rank, he is now equivalent to Assistant Commissioner of Police and qualified to be a Chairman of EFCC.
“The EFCC Establishment Act, especially Section 2a (ii) stated that a candidate for appointment as the Chairman of the agency should be a serving or retired member of any security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent.”
“The DCDS in EFCC is equivalent ACP in Police. For instance, the operative cadre entry-level in the police is Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) equivalent to Assistant Detective of Superintendent (ADS); Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) is equivalent to Deputy Detective Superintendent (DDS); Superintendent of Police (SP) is equivalent to Senior Detective Superintendent (SDS); Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) is equivalent to Principal Detective Superintendent (PDS) while Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) is equivalent to Deputy Chief Detective Superintendent (DCDS).
“There are other senior officers in EFCC who are not detective operatives, but with routine civil service ranks for administrative purposes. The Detective operatives currently in the service of EFCC are either course mates or junior to the Bawa who has just been promoted to qualifying level for the position of the Chairman,” the officer concluded.
Still some lawyers who spoke to this newspaper on Saturday expressed concern that the promotion may not stand as the EFCC currently does not have a board in place to approve it.
They also argued that even if the promotion stands, the designated EFCC Chairman would only moves up a step- from level 13 to 14 and not to a Level 15 officer or above as stipulated in the Act.
President Buhari had last Tuesday asked the Senate to confirm Bawa, who currently heads the Lagos zonal office of the EFCC, as the substantive chairman of the commission.
If he is confirmed, Bawa, 40, will be the youngest person to ever lead the organisation.