Group worried over Nigeria's new anti-graft chief

LAGOS May 30 (Reuters) - Nigeria must follow due process in naming a new head for its anti-corruption agency to safeguard public trust in the institution, global watchdog Transparency International said on Friday.

The Senate is probing allegations made by the opposition and rights campaigners that President Umaru Yar'Adua disregarded the law in naming Farida Waziri, a retired top-ranking police officer, as the new head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) earlier this month.

Yar'Adua took power a year ago pledging zero tolerance for corruption in one of the world's most tainted countries. But the removal of former EFCC head Nuhu Ribadu in December prompted campaigners to question his commitment to wage war against graft in Africa's top oil producer.

Nigerian newspapers have reported that Waziri's appointment, which is yet to be confirmed by the Senate as required by law, was sponsored by some ex-governors who face corruption and money-laundering charges.

"Concerns that due process might not have been followed in the appointment of a new chair must be addressed and the process be made fully transparent," Transparency's executive secretary in Nigeria Osita Ogbu said in a statement.

This will "safeguard the public trust in the EFCC as an independent institution that will continue to take strong action against those suspected of economic and financial crimes in Nigeria," Ogbu said.

The EFCC was prosecuting seven state governors from the last administration when Ribadu removed and sent on a one-year policy and strategic studies course at a remote institute in central Nigeria.

This prompted allegations the government had caved in to pressure from politicians anxious to stop investigations into their finances. National police chief Mike Okiro, who announced Ribadu's removal from the EFCC, denied this.

The head of the United Nations crime office said in January that Ribadu's removal could hobble the crackdown on graft in Africa's most populous country, and send the wrong signal to EU donors who poured $35 million into the project.

Campaigners say there has been no significant progress in the cases against the former governors, two of whom had helped finance Yar'Adua's election victory in April 2007, and are widely believed to have an influence on Yar'Adua.

"Nigeria's international reputation as a leader in the fight against corruption hinges on the independence and impartiality of its anti-corruption institutions," Doris Basler, acting director for Africa and the Middle East at Transparency said in a statement.

"A strong institution needs a strong leader. The EFCC can only fulfil its mandate if its own governance procedures are seen to be transparent and accountable," Basler said.

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Tume Ahemba; Editing by Matthew Jones)