EFCC interim report reveals diversion of over N12 billion in Rural Electrification Agency

The interim report of an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed details of the misappropriation of about N12.7 billion in the Rural Electrification Agency (REA)

The report indicted the former Managing Director of the Agency , Salihijo Ahmad and his management team who were suspended and replaced by President Tinubu last week.

According to the findings, 37 bank accounts where linked to Salihijo Ahmad’s BVN despite claims on his asset declaration forms with the CCB that he has only two accounts.

The BVN printout depicts irregularities as there are different dates of birth associated with the suspect.

The 37 bank accounts comprises 14 corporate accounts, 21 personal accounts, and 2 other accounts in the names of Bilkisu Salihijo.

The anti- graft agency further discovered that in June 2023, senior officials of the Agency siphoned N300 million under the guise of a training programme and awarded contracts worth the same amount to two companies for same training programme.

The two companies, Cees Assist Resources Limited and Braintask Value Resources Limited, have the same owner, one Umaefulem Chibueze, who was used to siphon funds through the programme.

It was also revealed that a Director in the Agency, Alaba Netufo, was running a private business to which some contractors of the agency had on several occasions paid money.

A gross misappropriation of N12.4 billion COVID-19 funds disbursed by the FG to the agency in two tranches of (N6.2 billion) each in 2020 and 2021 for mass rural solar power lighting was also discovered.

The report further revealed that the agency was involved in coercing contractors executing zonal intervention and capital projects to pay 5% of the contract sum as ‘’Monitoring and Evaluation’’ charges, which are usually paid in cash to senior/management staff of the Agency and are, more often than not, embezzled.

Also Payments totalling N728.9 million made by the Agency to 15 contractors in 2023 for consultancy jobs were channels for stealing and diversion of public funds and by the virtue of the job roles of certain staff of the agency being zonal coordinators, project department as well as monitoring and evaluation department, it was unnecessary, ridiculous and alarming that external consultants were still engaged to execute the same responsibilities.”

EFCC, discovered that N1.2 billion was siphoned between March and June 2023 through eight staff in the agency’s account department while there was payment of N1.2 billion by the Director of Finance and Accounts, Abdullahi Sambo to bank accounts of 8 staff of the department as well as himself for project monitoring.

And upon receipt of the said funds, the Director of Finance and Accounts instructed his allies to purchase various choice properties and assets being plots of land, houses and a car in his favour.

Another revelation was that the Director of Finance and Accounts also directed one Usman Kwakwa to convert the total sum of (N159,608,464.38) to United States Dollars; this he did using two Bureau De Change Operators namely Laba Ibrahim and Ahmed Musa.

Usman Kwakwa also transferred various sums of monies totalling (N115,749,000.00) to some senior staff and management of the agency.

The Director of Finance and Accounts benefitted over (N414,346,343.51) from the loot.
The anti-graft agency however said it succeeded in recovering N30 million for the training programme while four suspects have undertaken to refund the total sum of N201 million representing their share of the looted funds.
It also recovered N246 million, a duplex in Karsana Abuja, an uncompleted filling station along Kaduna road, Abuja, three landed properties in Kaduna State, three plots of land in Lafia and one plot of land in Mararaba, Nasarawa State and a landed property worth N46 million from one of the 16 suspects.

On the the (N12.4) billion Covid-19 Funds, EFCC established that contracts totalling N2 billion were never executed and they believe that N6 billion of the total sum could have been diverted owing to under execution, and poor execution of the contracts.