The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has questioned the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, in connection with an alleged N585.2 million fraud within the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Additionally, the anti-graft agency has conducted interviews with several Ministry staff implicated in the purported fraud. A source from the EFCC informed the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Madein and the Ministry’s personnel were summoned due to their suspected involvement in the fraudulent activities linked to the suspended minister, Betta Edu.
The source revealed that the EFCC interrogators engaged the Accountant General of the Federation for an extended period at the agency’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, before subsequently releasing her. According to the source, Madein was specifically questioned about the disbursement of N585.2 million in social intervention funds into a private bank account belonging to a government official.
During the interrogation, Madein reportedly asserted that she did not authorize the payment based on a memo from Minister Edu.
“She was grilled for several hours on Monday over the payment of N585.2 million from the National Social Investment Office (NSIO) account to the UBA account of Bridget Oniyelu, the Accountant of the Grants for Vulnerable Groups under the Ministry.
“She told the investigators that she didn’t approve Edu’s memo for payment into private accounts.
“She was not detained and was released with no condition after she made her explanation in writing to the investigators during interrogation.”
The source said some Ministry officials were invited to explain their involvement in the alleged fraud, adding that some were quizzed and released while others were detained depending on the level of their involvement.
“I don’t know how many of them that were released or being detained but some of them are still in custody depending on their involvement,” the source said.
A leaked memo revealed how Edu, in December 2023, allegedly requested Madein to transfer the money from the NSIO account to the UBA account of Oniyelu, the accountant of the Grants for Vulnerable Groups under the Ministry.
However, the AGF, in a statement, countered the claim by suspending the minister.
She noted that allocations were released to self-accounting MDAs in line with the budget and such MDAs were responsible for the implementation of their projects and payments for such projects.
The minister, who was suspended on Jan. 8 by President Bola Tinubu, was last week Tuesday grilled by operatives of the EFCC for more than 10 hours over the alleged fraud in her Ministry.
The N585 million was meant for payment of grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Cross River, and Ogun states.
Halima Shehu, the embattled Co-ordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, NSIPA, domiciled in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, is also being probed by the EFCC over an alleged N44 billion fraud.
