President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Hafsat Bakari to serve as the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), pending her confirmation by the Senate.
She takes over from Modibbo Hamman Tukur, who was appointed in 2019 by the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
According to a statement issued by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the acting NFIU boss, 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 said he anticipates that Bakari will bring her wealth of experience and expertise to full discharge in this critical role, especially in view of his administration’s war against illicit financial flows and other sharp practices currently prevalent in segments of the nation’s foreign exchange markets.
