EFCC Quizzes Top Ministry Officials, ICPC Recovers N50bn

The investigation into the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation deepened on Wednesday as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC investigators quizzing several top civil servants linked to the scandals. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC recovered N50bn from the humanitarian affairs ministry. The money, which was about to be embezzled was recovered by the ICPC between July and August 2023 and paid into the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. VOP News gathered that the fund which was meant for vulnerable citizens during the tenure of former Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq was blocked during attempts to transfer it into private bank accounts and recovered by the ICPC under its former Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye. An impeccable government source told newsmen that the N50bn was subsequently handed over to the Federal Government. Confirming the development, the source stated that 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 then. The source further explained that 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. In continuation of their probe, EFCC detectives on Wednesday questioned many senior civil servants in the humanitarian affairs ministry. The investigators also held sessions with the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, ex-minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq, and  Halima  Shehu, the suspended National Coordinator and CEO of the National Social Investment Programme, an agency under the humanitarian ministry. While Edu is being investigated for authorising the transfer of N585m into the private account of an accountant in the ministry, Bridget Oniyelu, Umar-Farouq, who served as a minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari, was under the searchlight over alleged N37bn  money laundering. Shehu on the other hand was being questioned for allegedly moving N44bn NSIP funds into some private and corporate accounts without presidential approval. 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 also answering questions over the alleged money laundering.’ 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 reportedly paid the money into the coffers of the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry under Betta Edu, being the ministry in charge of poverty alleviation projects

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