THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF SUCCESSION PLANNING AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT AT THE NIGERIAN FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT (NFIU) OF THE EFCC

The need to focus on succession planning in Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit is due to the fact that many promising agencies have either collapsed or doing poorly over the years soon after the demise/exit/retirement of their performing leadership. Using the interview method of data collection, the study seeks to explore the issues involved in succession planning, the challenges and best practices of succession planning in NFIU and how these have threatened the perpetuity principle in management of the commission in Nigeria. The study concludes that NFIU had no succession plan or exist strategy for directors who are retiring and that criteria for succession are not based on talent from within. Based on its findings, the study recommends that an organizational structure should be implemented so that employees know who is next in line and what is expected of them, so that if anything is to happen to top management NFIU can still carry on. Identified top managers should be groomed and developed to ensure that they know what is expected to fill the vacant positions. Implementing a formal succession plan is very important to ensure that all aspects have been looked at if something is to happen