A top official of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has been accused of siphoning off over N300 million into his personal company’s accounts. The allegation was made by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) during a court proceeding.
According to ICPC investigator, Bariki Zaknayaba, the official, Usman Kwakwa, used his company, Bizairabbi General Supply and Co Ltd, to allegedly divert the funds. Zaknayaba revealed that between March and June 2023, N130 million and N85 million were paid into Kwakwa’s company account, while N97 million was paid into his Zenith Bank account under the guise of project monitoring exercise.
The investigation was triggered by a petition received by the ICPC from non-governmental organizations and the National Assembly, which alleged embezzlement of N1.2 billion by senior staff of the Finance and Account Department of REA, including Abubakar Sambo, Director of Finance and Account.
Zaknayaba explained that the ICPC investigation revealed that there was no written approval from REA’s authority for the payments made. He stated that a formal procedure for making payments involves a memo by the managing director for approval, followed by transmission of the payment vouchers to the finance department for processing.
During the investigation, the investigator also explained that letters were sent to several banks, including First Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Zenith Bank, and United Bank for Africa (UBA) to request bank statements and account opening packages in relation to the case.
The court heard that the ICPC team drafted a strategy for the investigation, which was approved before beginning the probe. The investigation revealed that all payments were made from REA’s Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform with narratives claiming they were for project monitoring.
The case is ongoing at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Join our Channel...