The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into the allegedly over N57 billion of public funds “missing, diverted or stolen” in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021.
The organisation asked Tinubu “to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies” to probe the allegations.
This is according to a statement issued by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, in a letter dated November 23, 2024, and made available to PUNCH Online on Sunday, November 24, 2024.
In its request, SERAP referenced the 2021 audited report released last week by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, saying, “The allegations amount to stealing from the poor. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations.
“The allegations also suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anticorruption legislation, and international anticorruption obligations.”
The organisation demanded that anyone found guilty should be punished by law, and “any missing public funds should be fully recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“Hundreds of billions of naira are also reportedly missing in other Ministries, Departments and Agencies [MDAs],” it added.
The statement read in part, “Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviations and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies [MDAs].
“According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, [the ministry] in 2021 failed to account for over N54 billion [N54,630,000,000.00] meant to pay monthly stipends to Batch C1 N-Power volunteers and non-graduate trainees between August and December 2021.
“The money was ‘not directly paid to the beneficiaries.’ The Auditor-General is concerned that the money ‘may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants suspected perpetrators of the diversion to be sanctioned in line with the Financial Regulations.”
Among others, SERAP noted that the ministry “reportedly failed to account for over N2.6 billion [N2,617,090,786.00] of public funds meant for the ‘home-grown school feeding programme during Covid-19’, as ‘the programme was never executed.’ The money was allegedly paid to five contractors to ‘procure, package and distribute Covid-19 palliatives to Kano, Zamfara and Abia states,’” but without any trace.
“The ministry also reportedly spent over N78 million [N78,373,909.74] to ‘carry out a survey on the ministry’s Covid-19 response to states and vulnerable groups’ but without any approval or document.
“The ministry also reportedly failed to account for N400 million [N400,000,000.00] meant to pay ‘stipends to 4,450 independent monitors for October, November, and December 2021,’” it stated.
The organisation further advised the president to “use any recovered stolen funds to fund the deficit in the 2025 budget, and to issue an immediate moratorium on borrowing by the Federal Government to ease Nigeria’s crippling debt crisis.”
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.
“SERAP urges you to immediately enforce the judgment by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, ordering your government to release the spending details of N729 billion by Mrs Sadia Umar-Farouk, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development,” read the statement, among others.
In February 2024, PUNCH Online reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission recovered over N30bn from the N37,170, 855,753.44 allegedly laundered in the ministry under the former minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouk.
Sources in the anti-graft agency said the commission had also uncovered over N500m from the scam associated with Umar-Farouk’s successor, Betta Edu.
In July 2024, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos State directed Umar-Farouk to give details of how N729bn allegedly disbursed to 24.3 million poor Nigerians was carried out.
The court ruled that the ex-minister should provide a list of all the beneficiaries, including their bank details, that received the N5,000 disbursed for six months.
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