EduGate digs up N900m MDAs paid into private accounts against the rules
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Several Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) paid more than N900 million of public funds into different private bank accounts in the past three months alone, according to a new report showing EduGate cuts across the board.
President Bola Tinubu on January 8 suspended Humanitarian Affairs Minister Betta Edu for directing the federal Accountant General to pay N585 million into a private account for distribution to poor people in four states.
The press has dubbed the scandal EduGate.
Edu’s leaked directive, which the Accountant General declined to follow, contravenes the official rule that public funds should not be paid into a personal account and personal funds should not be paid into a government account.
But muckraking by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) discovered this rule is broken across MDAs which have paid huge sums into private bank accounts.
FIJ quotes Budgit govspend portal as showing the payments were made by
- The Ministry of Interior
- The Ministry of Defence
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- National Productivity Centre (NPC)
- Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF)
- Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR)
- Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)
- Budget Office
- Pension Transitional Arrangement Department (PTAD)
These expenditures violate Section 713 of the Nigerian Civil Service Financial Regulation 2009 which says:
“Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private bank account. An officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with fraudulent intention.”
Edu argued she directed the N585 million payment into the account of the “project accountant” for the Federal Government Grants for Vulnerable Groups project.
There are also other cases of money being sent to “project accountants” and other individuals between October and December 2023.
Payments in October 2023
FIJ cited about N338,908,999.92 paid into private accounts by different agencies in October 2023, and PTAD alone accounted for about N100 million that month.
Payment descriptions confirmed these sums were mostly disbursed for pension allocations to several people under the Civil Service Pension Department (CSDP) and different private individuals were the beneficiaries.
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Related articles:
EFCC interrogates fed Account General over N585b EduGate
CCB summons Tunji-Ojo over N438m contract awarded by Betta Edu
Betta Edu reports to EFCC as Tinubu withdraws her Villa Access Card
Betta Edu did not act alone, cartel behind funds mismanagement, Ndume tells Tinubu
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Payments in November 2023
The SGF paid funds into the accounts of four different “project accountants” – Ayandayo Kayode, Benjamin Akpa, Osahaeyie Ali Innocent, and Aderinlola Omolola Ramota.
Kayode, Akpa, and Ali-Innocent were paid as project accountants for the secretariat, security and media sub-committees during the 63rd independence celebration in 2023.
Ramota was paid as the “project accountant” for a cabinet retreat for top government functionaries in November 2023.
The NIMRC paid N45 million to David Agatha for a project tagged “Expansion of Mapping and Characterisation of Ijede and Consolidation of NIMR HDSS Site”.
The federal Accountant General paid about N11.5 million to Rufus Egbeba and N5.7 million to Olufunke Taibat.
Payment descriptions suggest Egbeba is affiliated with the National Biosafety Management Agency and Olufunke with the Medical Rehabilitation and Therapists Registration Board of Nigeria.
FIJ found about N259,141,705.9 was paid to separate individual accounts, most of it by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), the Budget Office and the OAGF
The CCB paid Migine Saleh on November 14 and November 17, totalling about N14 million, for fueling, repair, and service of vehicles.
The Budget Office paid N5.1 million to Ekoja Peter “for sporting activities” on November 30. Seven days before then, the Budget Office paid Elijah Oliyide about N7.9 million for the annual public service games in Gombe.
The PTAD paid significant amounts of money to separate individual accounts for different purposes.
Payments in December 2023
The MDAs paid about N299,155,058.47 into different personal accounts in December 2023.
The OAGF paid about N16.5 million to Kehinde Ogunsina for stationery, N17.6 million (local training), and another N20.8 million (local training).
Elisha Illiya was paid N5 million by the OAFG for “IT and T others” and Ukomah Micheal received N6 million for sporting activities.
PTAD and the SGF also paid considerable amounts of money to different individuals with different payment descriptions.