The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has promoted the Chairman-designate, Abdulrasheed Ahmed Bawa and 88 others.

They were moved from Grade Level 13 Principal Detective Superintendent (PDS) to Grade Level 14 Deputy Chief Detective Superintendent (DCDS).

The elevation took effect from January 1, 2021.

The promotion was communicated 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Bawa to replace Ibrahim Magu, former Acting Chairman.

After the announcement by the presidency, Bawa’s alleged fraudulent practices were dug out. But the EFCC explained that the nominee had been cleared of corruption allegations.

There are arguments that Bawa is not qualified for the chairmanship position. The promotion is being regarded as a government response.

An internal memo on the development was signed by an official, Femi Peter Gbarufu.

The circular issued on Friday, titled “Release of Promotion List”, said the Human Resources Unit would forward the letters to the affected personnel.

A source told PRNigeria that Bawa’s new rank is equivalent to an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), a qualification for the position of chairman.

“Bawa was recruited into the 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 an 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 to an ACP in Police.

“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).”

The source said although there are other senior officers in EFCC, they are not Detective operatives but are of 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 have just been promoted to the qualifying level for the position of the Chairman,” the officer added.

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