‘Npower Minister’ has released a statement on diverting billions.
CityNews Nigeria reports that the reports that the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, has distanced herself from reports linking her to the diversion of school feeding funds to private accounts.
In a statement on Monday by her media aide, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the Npower Minister explained that the report by Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has been twisted by mischief-makers.
Prof Owasonoye, made a presentation on Monday during the National Summit on Diminishing Corruption during which he highlighted that part of the N2.67billion meant for the school feeding programme was diverted to private accounts.
However, the Npower Minister as she is fondly called by Nigerians who enrolled in the social intervention scheme of the Federal Government has clarified that the school feeding in question is different from the Home Grown School Feeding which is one of its Social Investment Programmes under her supervision.
While emphasizing the innocence of the Npower Minister, the Ministry further called on the ICPC to publish the names of those involved in the diversion so that the public can be better informed.
Read Npower Minister’s Statement below…
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The Npower Minister said in the statement that: “The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development wishes to dissociate itself from a trending report in the media titled “N2.72b for School Feeding During Lockdown Diverted To Private Accounts”.
“The report emanated after a presentation by the Chairman of @ICPC_PE, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye at the 2nd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption and was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.”
“The report states thus “preliminary investigation had indicated that part of the N2.67billion was diverted to private accounts. It also revealed that over N2.5 billion was misappropriated by a senior civil servant (name withheld) in the ministry of agriculture and now deceased, for himself and cronies”.
“That the Ministry or the Minister does not even handle or disburse funds [email protected] That money for funding the Programme neither passes through the Minister nor the ministry.”
“That the over N2.5 billion which was reportedly misappropriated by a senior civil servant (name withheld) took place in a different ministry and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.”
“That the ICPC recovered N16 billion worth of assets from the said ministry which was paid into an individual account for non-official purposes and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.”
