In a petition to the ICPC, Bashir Ahmad was alleged to have received salaries through May, June and July, to the tune of N3,129,530.64 in fraudulent basic earnings
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari’s aide on social media, Bashir Ahmad, received unearned salaries has become the subject of a probe by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).
An online newspaper, Peoples Gazette, had in a report revealed that the presidential aide continues to receive salaries after quitting his job to contest the House of Representatives ticket in Kano. An anti-graft NGO, HEDA Resource Centre, reported the alleged infraction to the ICPC.
According to the Peoples Gazette, the ICPC said the probe of Bashir Ahmad has already commenced. “We received a complaint and we have commenced an investigation. Our investigation is preliminary at this stage in order to establish accuracy of the information we received and then we take it from there,” the Gazette quoted ICPC spokeswoman Azuka Ogugua.
The HEDA’s petition was triggered by The Gazette’s report of August 15, 2022, which detailed how Bashir Ahmad allegedly defrauded Nigerian taxpayers of over N3 million after leaving office as a presidential media aide.
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Bashir Ahmad was alleged to have received salaries through May, June and July, to the tune of N3,129,530.64 in fraudulent basic earnings.
The Gazette quoted Bashir Ahmad, who was earlier this month reappointed by Buhari, of saying he refunded the illicit payments in full to the federal coffers for the months he was not an official. The newspaper however said he failed to supply evidence of the reimbursement or clarify what actions he took after receiving the first, second and third salaries, as well as federal allowances and estacodes, despite being a private citizen.