President Bola Tinubu has announced the appointment of Ms. Hafsat Abubakar Bakari to lead the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) as its Director and Chief Executive Officer.
The announcement of the new appointment came through a statement from Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, on Tuesday evening.
Bakari replaces Modibbo Tukur who was relieved of his job by Tinubu in June 2023.
Bakari’s appointment is however pending her confirmation by the Senate.
What the President is Saying
The Statement reads:
- “President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Ms. Hafsat Abubakar Bakari to serve as the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), pending her confirmation by the Senate.
- “Ms. Bakari is a lawyer and financial intelligence expert with years of experience in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF).
- “Before her appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, she served as Deputy Director at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, and was at different times the Head of the General Services Unit; Head of the Strategy and Reorientation Unit, and Head of the Board Secretariat of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
- “The President anticipates that Ms. Bakari will bring her wealth of experience and expertise to full discharge in this critical role, especially given his administration’s war against illicit financial flows and other sharp practices currently prevalent in segments of the nation’s foreign exchange markets.”
