EFCC grills Accountant General over N585m ministry fraud

Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has grilled the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, over an alleged link to the N585 million fraud in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

It was gathered that the Accountant General was interrogated by the EFCC at the headquarters of the anti-graft agency in Abuja on Monday, January 15, 2024.

The Star recalls that the EFCC, last week, started interrogating the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, over alleged N585 million fraud in the ministry.

President Bola Tinubu had earlier suspended the minister over the alleged payment of N585 million humanitarian funds meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Cross River, and Ogun states into a private account.

It was however learnt that Madein was grilled for over six hours on Monday and was released with no condition in the evening.

A credible EFCC source disclosed that the AGF was grilled over the payment of N585.2m of government funds from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs into the private bank account of a government official.

“The Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, has been invited and interrogated by the commission. She was grilled for over six hours on Monday over the payment of N585.2m from the National Social Investment office account to the UBA account of Bridget Oniyelu, the accountant of the Grants for Vulnerable Groups under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

“The AGF was not detained, and she was released with no condition after she made her explanation in writing to the investigators during interrogation.

“However, she told interrogators that she didn’t approve the memo from Minister Edu for the payment into a private account,” the source told Punch.

It would be recalled that a leaked memo revealed how Edu, in December 2023, requested the Accountant General to transfer the money from the National Social Investment office account to a private account.

However, the AGF, in a statement, countered the claim by the suspended minister, saying allocations were released to self-accounting MDAs in line with the budget.

She added that such MDAs were responsible for the implementation of their projects and payments for such projects.

The Star