EFCC chairman, Bawa, meets Tinubu at Villa

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday met with Abdulrasheed Bawa, chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting came barely 24 hours after Tinubu ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to vacate the Ikoyi office of the antigraft commission.

Bawa arrived at the Villa a few minutes past 2 pm and was ushered into the president’s office complex.

At the meeting which was the EFCC chairman’s first official engagement with President Tinubu, Bawa briefed him on the state of the fight against corruption.

He also informed the president of his recent visit to Saudi Arabia where he signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (NAZAHA) of the Kingdom, in a bid to strengthen international partnerships to address the complex challenges posed by corruption.

TheCable had reported that President Tinubu asked the DSS to vacate the office of the EFCC in Ikoyi, on Tuesday.

He said if there were issues between the “two important agencies of government”, they would be resolved amicably, according to a statement shared with TheCable by the State House.

“The President gave the directive when reports that DSS officials stormed the EFCC office located on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday, preventing officials of the anti-graft agency from accessing their workplace, was brought to his attention,” the statement reads.

TheCable had reported that officials of the DSS prevented personnel of the EFCC in Lagos from accessing their Ikoyi office.

Reacting to the incident in a statement, Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesperson, said the leadership of EFCC has “reached out to it (the Service) for a final resolution of issues surrounding the property under reference”.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is important to note that the commission does not use 15 Awolowo Road DSS-owned property as holding facility for its suspects. As such, the service never hindered the commission’s access to its suspects anywhere,” the statement reads.

“While the service has accepted the commission’s entreaties and certain concessions, sections of the media are advised to apply restraint in their reportage of the matter in order to avoid instigating any rancours between the two agencies.”