Investigators from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission questioned a number of senior civil servants connected to the scams on Wednesday, adding to the depth of the probe into the crimes at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Information surfaced that the ministry of humanitarian affairs had given N50 billion to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission.
Additionally, it was learned that the amount, which was intended for citizens in need during the administration of former Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq, was blocked when attempts were made to move it into private bank accounts. The ICPC, led by Bolaji Owasanoye, retrieved the fund.
The N50 billion was then given to the Federal Government, commanded by President Bola Tinubu, according to an authentic government source.
Confirming the development, the source stated, “The funds were recovered when former President Muhammadu Buhari and Umar-Farouq were leaving office and President Tinubu had yet to appoint a new humanitarian affairs minister.
- Recovered Fund
“President Tinubu, upon the appointment of the now suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, ordered the Accountant-General of the Federation to refund the money to the ministry as part of the Infrastructure Support Fund for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.’’
“The refunded sum is part of the N44bn allegedly laundered in the National Social Investment Programme Agency and the N585m Edu authorised for disbursement.’’
Shedding more light on the interception and recovery of the fund, another source explained, “During the naira scarcity between late 2022 and 2023, the ICPC under Prof Owasanoye blocked and recovered the sum of N50bn from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The first sum that was blocked and recovered was N32bn, but when the commission probed further, another N18bn was blocked and recovered from the ministry. The ICPC discovered that the money was meant for the vulnerable and the poor people in the country which the ministry under the former minister, Umar-Farouq, could not distribute due to the scarcity of currency during the naira redesign period.
“The money was paid into the coffers of the government between July and August 2023. Some officials in the ministry attempted to disburse the funds into private accounts during the time the former minister was no longer active in office and there was no new minister last year. The ICPC immediately blocked the money after discovering the suspicious and fraudulent manner in which it was to be distributed, and it was recovered.
“After President Tinubu announced the Infrastructure Support Fund for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal, the Federal Government paid the money into the coffers of the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry under Betta Edu, being the ministry in charge poverty alleviation projects.”
- Civil Servants Quizzed
EFCC detectives questioned numerous top civil officers in the ministry of humanitarian affairs on Wednesday as part of their ongoing investigation.
Our reporter was informed by a reliable source that despite the officials’ vague specifics, they provided the investigators with valuable information that helped them uncover financial misconduct within the ministry.
Additionally, the investigators met with Sadiya Umar-Farouq, the former minister, Betta Edu, the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and Halima Shehu, the suspended CEO and National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme, an organization that falls under the humanitarian ministry.
As Edu is being looked into for having approved the transfer of N585 million to the private account of a ministry accountant, Bridget Oniyelu, Umar-Farouq, a minister under previous President Muhammadu Buhari, was being investigated for allegedly laundering N37 billion in money.
On the other hand, Shehu was under investigation for reportedly transferring N44 billion from the NSIP into a number of business and private accounts without the president’s consent.
An EFCC source stated, “The women came today (Wednesday) and they’re cooperating with the commission,”
“Also director-generals and other senior officials under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs have been and are still being interrogated by the EFCC. Senior officials of some banks are still answering questions too over the alleged money laundering.’’
President Bola Tinubu suspended Edu on Monday. According to Edu, the N585 million payment was intended for underprivileged populations in the states of Lagos, Ogun, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom.
Rasheed Olarewaju, her media assistant, had asserted that it was permissible for civil servants to receive funds into their personal accounts, particularly for project accountants.
Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, the Accountant-General of the Federation, refused the minister’s request that her office honor the N585 million payment into the private account.
She stated that because MDAs are independent accounting organizations, the AGF does not make payments on their behalf.
The anti-graft authorities have been tasked by the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party to expand their current investigation to include all ministries, departments, and agencies that are implicated in corrupt activities.
The PDP alleged that corruption was ongoing in almost all the MDAs, while the LP noted that a probe of civil servants and other ministries ‘’would bring some semblance of truthfulness into the system.’’
In an interview with The Punch, Okechukwu Osuoha, the PDP’s deputy national legal adviser, clarified that all ministries’ civil workers ought to be investigated as they are purportedly used as tools for fraud.
He said that not only would a comprehensive and all-encompassing probe expose the fraud, but it would also assist in monitoring the actions of government workers across all ministries.
Osuoha stated, “Yes, the EFCC should investigate other ministries. Corruption is ongoing in other ministries and among civil servants. This did not start today. There is corruption in our system, especially in the civil service.
“The corruption is at its peak, not only in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, but other ministries are also involved in corrupted practices. There are issues of embezzlement of funds and misappropriation of public funds.
“So, the government and concerned agencies should focus on them all. They should be investigated.
“Most times you will see civil servants in most ministries committing a lot of fraudulent activities. They are the most guilty because they are always there as machinery for fraud. So, the Federal Government and the anti-graft agencies need to investigate all of them.”
On his part, the PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said other ministries and civil servants should be thoroughly investigated.
He noted, “Yes, the probe should be thorough and extended to the civil servants. It would serve as deterrence against intended and corrupt Nigerians. Other ministries should be investigated too.”
Group Advises FG
peaking at the same event, Yunusa Tanko, the spokesperson for the 2023 LP’s Presidential Campaign Council, said that opening up the investigation to other MDAs will aid in purging the civil service.
“Ministers cannot do anything alone,” stated Tanko, who demanded an open investigation. Throughout the entire procedure, civil personnel are involved. The investigation should be expanded by the president to include additional ministries and government employees. That will help in sterilizing the system.
“The truth about it is that when the head has challenges of credibility, it affects all others. Why you see the unprecedented looting of treasury that is being done in different strata is because of the challenges of leadership.
‘’So, therefore when the head of the fish is rotten, it affects all others too and that is why all this looting is happening. However, extending the probe to other ministries and civil servants will bring credibility and help sanitize the system if that is the target of the government.’’
Continuing, he reasoned that an open investigation would also expose all the shenanigans in the MDAs and the individuals involved.
“This is important because all the actions in these ministries and within the civil service are interwoven in one way or the other. So, many actions of this nature cannot be taken by one person. In one way or the other, other people are involved. So, an open investigation will give a semblance of truthfulness,’’ he submitted.
Endorsing the call for extension of the ongoing probe to other MDAs, the Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, stated that the EFCC should also question the permanent secretary and other directors in the ministry, noting that they ought to have given the minister the proper orientation on public procurement.
In order to verify purchase orders, he continued, the ICPC should establish Anti-Corruption and Transparency desks in each ministry.
“As a matter of fact, the Permanent Secretary, the DFA (Director, Finance, and Administration), and the accounting officer in that ministry are the main people that should have been arrested and questioned because it is the permanent secretary and the directors that are supposed to give Betta Edu, the political appointee in that ministry the proper orientation on civil service procedures in procurement and financial issues.
“The ICPC is expected to have a desk in every MDA, including the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. The desk of the ICPC in that ministry is supposed to be called ACTU, Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit. And every procurement transaction will pass through that ACTU desk, and the ACTU will verify whether that order complies with civil service rules or not”, he said.
On his part, the Coordinator of the African Centre for Media Information and Literacy, Chido Onumah, urged a further probe into the humanitarian affairs ministry and other MDAs, adding that the case was “a door into possible scandals in other MDAs.’’
He stated, “This is just a door into what we all know or presume to be huge corruption within ministries, departments, and agencies. I hope it provides the opportunity for this administration and the anti-graft agencies to do something.
“I mean maybe not, maybe the minister knew what it was they were doing. But the point I’m trying to make is that there is a serious institutional failure here, a serious lack of procedure.
“So the permanent secretary is the accounting officer more or less, and I think he or she should be the one originating memos before bringing it to the minister after it must have gone through some procedures.
“So, whether it is the person that sent the memo directly to the minister, or the perm sec, there should be more questions to ask, as to what transpired.”
Following the suspension of Minister Edu, Abel Enitan, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, has assumed leadership of the ministry’s operations.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sacked the minister on Monday due to the alleged N585 million payment into a private account.
She was instructed to turn herself in to the permanent secretary and to assist the investigative authorities in any way possible while they carried out their inquiry.
After supposedly receiving a letter on Monday night from the Secretary’s office to the Government of the Federation, Enitan took charge.
