An investigation has revealed that at least N159.6 billion ($352 million) was paid into private accounts by various ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) of the Nigerian government in the last six years.
The findings come amidst the ongoing suspension of Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, who was accused of authorizing the payment of N585.2 million into a private account.
The investigation, conducted by PremiumTimes based on data from Govspend, a platform tracking government spending, revealed that several MDAs made questionable payments into private accounts.
The Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta tops the list of offenders, having paid N8.3 billion ($20 million) to an ex-militant leader in 130 transactions.
The Nigerian office of the New Partnership for African Development, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Ministry of Women Affairs, and even the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were found to have made suspicious payments into private accounts.
Others include the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Budget Office of the Federation, National Human Rights Commission, Police Formations and Commands, Nigeria Police Academy Wudil, Kano, National Directorate of Employment, National Commission for Refugees, Auditor General for the Federation, National Commission for Persons with Disability, Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, and Federal Character Commission amongst others.
More than N13 billion in public funds, according to the findings, were paid into private accounts in 2023 alone, with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs among the violators.
The report noted that while some payments may be legitimate, others were suspicious. For instance, even the EFCC, tasked with fighting corruption, paid N211.7 million into two private accounts last year.
EFCC was said to have made two transactions between May and October last year, paying a total of N211.7 million into two private accounts; one for Aliyu Naibi (N154,974,745.00) and the other for Abdullahi Mohammed (N56,767,056.83).
Another one is that of the Nigeria Police Force where N89.8 million was paid to a former spokesperson, Frank Mba, for “airing a police program on TV.”
Meanwhile, chapter seven, section 713 of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009 explicitly prohibits paying public funds into private accounts.
In total, the police force, police formations and commands and Nigeria Police Academy in Wudil, Kano paid N173.8 million into five individual accounts, according to the investigation.
Also, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning paid N1.5 billion in tranches to 16 individuals for various projects and services between February and December of 2023.
The findings also show that some high-profile Nigerians were beneficiaries of some of the payments made into individual accounts.
They include former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former SGF Boss Mustapha and many ministers and aides who served in the Buhari administration were paid their severance allowances.
