Available data have shown that the Federal Government disbursed N10 billion to 165 private accounts in 2022. According to govspend.ng, N2.20 billion, in 27 transactions, was paid into an individual account as payment of September 2022 bulk stipends to the 1,214 ex-agitators, approved by the Internal Auditor on September 23.
Also, the same amount was paid for October 2022 bulk stipends to 2,515 ex-freedom fighters in 13 transactions, while N1.44 billion was also paid for servicing and distribution of award letters to fresh scholarship awardees in 2021 for students studying in Nigerian public tertiary institutions nationwide.
In six transactions, the sum of N888.48 million was paid into an individual account being funded for the training of Detective Inspector Course 6 and Detective Assistant Course 2, 2022.
There was also N545.39 million paid for what was termed ‘main envelope – personnel’ in four transactions. In the same vein, N127.89 million was remitted into a private account in 18 transactions as estacode to one Usman Grace and two others, while participating in the 2022 Istanbul conference in Turkey.
The report also revealed that a cumulative N584.32 million was paid in 42 transactions into another private account for severance entitlement and length of service allowance IRO retirement out of which N118.17 was paid in 18 transactions for priority projects in the oil and gas sector.
While The Guardian sought clarifications on the veracity of the N10 billion payment, Director of Information in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Rhoda Iliya, explained that the ministry was under investigation and could not offer any official explanation at this time.
She insisted that it is only the Permanent Secretary who can speak on the developments.
“You know the ministry is under investigation. So, I cannot tell you anything. You will have to find out from the office of the Permanent Secretary,” she stated. Incidentally, the Permanent Secretary is said to have been in a series of meetings since the scandal broke out.
Meanwhile, experts have said it is criminal to move government funds to private accounts no matter the excuses. A lawyer and fiscal governance expert, Eze Onyekpere, said anyone who violates the law must face the consequences.
For Prof Jonathan Aremu, an economic analyst, the only way out is for people to stick to the law. To Prof Godwin Oyedokun, the issue is not whether money is paid into a private account or not, but to verify if the fund was spent on an assigned purpose.
