ABUJA—The withdrawal of of N1.5 billion
from the account of the Ministry of Niger
Delta Affairs with the Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, and what the money was
used for are some of the questions the
Office of the Head of Service of the
Federation and security agencies are
currently trying to unravel with a view to
retrieving the funds and bringing those
who stole the cash to book.
In connection with the said money, two
senior accountants in the Ministry of
Niger Delta Affairs have already been
queried and suspended from office
pending the conclusion of investigation
into their roles in the alleged theft of the
fund.
Vanguard learned that although the two
officers promptly responded to the query
by pleading that they were simply carrying
out their duties as civil servants, the
ministry immediately suspended them,
rejecting their excuse.
They had argued that they withdrew the
money based on the instruction of
superior authorities and that as civil
servants they could not have disobeyed
their ‘superiors’ who asked them to make
the said amount available for official use.
The amount in question was reportedly
taken in two withdrawals on the
instructions of senior political aide,
claiming to be working on the directives
of a top presidency bigwig.
The first sum of N605 million withdrawn
by a minister from the account of the
ministry went missing after being
withdrawn from the CBN and is the
subject of investigation by the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission, ICPC,
while another withdrawal of over N800
million attracted the attention of the HoS
which queried the two accountants and
finally suspended them.
There were indications that the
suspended accountants had named those
who were behind the cash withdrawals
and had tried to exonerate themselves
from the deal.
It was learned that the Federal
Government is bent on inviting a former
minister in the ministery to appear before
its anti-corruption bodies to explain his
role in the missing cash.
Already, one of the former ministers and
close confidant of former President
Goodluck Jonathan, Elder Godsday
Orubebe, has been questioned by the
ICPC and freed by the commission.
The former minister claimed that he had
already resigned before the cash went
missing and that he never asked anyone
to withdraw such amount for him,
knowing that it was against service
regulations.
Already, the Presidency has been given a
brief on the finances of the ministry and
the roles played by some senior political
actors in the dying days of the last
administration.


www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/ex-n-delta-minister-2-accountants-in-trouble-over-missing-n1-5bn-cash/

It baffles me that many Tanoids will claim witch-hunt. These guys impoverished their own people. What could be more terrible than that. PMB will salvage Nigeria.

Yekpa

definition of corruption

Cash withdrawal is not corruption

zeal22:
Cash withdrawal is not corruption

Are u for real?
Withdrawing money that belongs to the govt without approval and purpose for it's withdrawal?
Pls delete your post.

zeal22:
Cash withdrawal is not corruption

Very true, but, what you do with it eventually can be corruption. In the reported case above, the officials withdrew the name without due process and never used it for any official purpose. The cash simply disappeared after withdrawal. That's corruption.

Nawa o! How much was actually missing under the last regime?