EFCC interrogates federal Accountant General who refused to follow Edu’s directive
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Oluwatoyin Madein, the new federal Accountant General who refused to approve Betta Edu’s written request to transfer to a private account N585 million belonging to the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry, has been interrogated by the graft buster.
She was questioned at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters in Jabi, Abuja on Monday.
“The Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, has been invited and interrogated by the Commission,” an inside source disclosed.
“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 leaked memo had revealed how Edu in December 2023 requested Madein to transfer the money from the National Social Investment office account to the UBA account of Oniyelu.
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Madein contradicts Edu at EFCC
Madein, in a statement, countered the claim by Edu that allocations are released to self-accounting ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in line with the budget and such MDAs are responsible for the implementation of their projects and payments for such projects, the source added, according to The PUNCH.
President Bola Tinubu suspended Edu on January 8 and she was questioned by the EFCC the following day for more than 10 hours.
Shehu, suspended Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) in the ministry, is also being investigated by the EFCC over alleged N44 billion fraud, likewise Edu’s successor Sadiya Umar-Farouq.