Sacked DG in Trouble for Allegedly Spending N200bn on PDP Campaign

 

It has been revealed that some of the 26 sacked Directors-General and Heads of parastatals might be heading to prison soon as most will be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for fraud related offences.

 

According to a report by The Nation, no fewer than 10 may be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) for investigation.

 

The report reveals that a large-scale fraud in their agencies compelled President Muhammadu Buhari to order the sack. One of the sacked DG allegedly spent N200 billion on last year’s Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) presidential campaign. 

 

The report also revealed that some of the former chief executives also awarded contracts to cronies who shortchanged the government.

 

It has been revealed that the EFCC and ICPC are preparing to swoop on some of the agencies like the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Broadcasting Commission(NBC), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE), National Women Development Centre (NWDC); Industrial Training Fund (ITF); Nigerian Investment Promotion Council; Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSIT), among others.

 

“The revelations are mind-boggling and it is sad that some of these chief executives continued with the impunity even after a new government had taken over,” a source revealed.

 

Giving more details, the report by The Nation reveals that a former chief executives allegedly withdrew N200 billion (using curious sub-heads)  to fund the campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

 

He cited the case of how a DG was implicated in a N68 billion fraud and other illegal expenditures and loans allegedly secured without proper approval.

 

The source also claimed that a  former female chief executive was alleged to have donated N700million to the PDP’s presidential campaign in January 2015; furnishing of an office at N800million which donor agencies can supply at no cost and the construction of a store at N240million instead of N40million.

 

In another instance, one of the heads of the media agencies could not account for all the advertisement cash raked in by his medium during the 2015 campaign.

 

Instead, about N5million was recorded as revenue from adverts during the 2015 polls.

 

The DG was said to have acquired a licence for an electronic medium and diverted the sophisticated equipment to the new private  outfit after using public funds to procure them.

 

A DG of  a sensitive agency was alleged to have hidden over N15billion in a secret account in violation of the extant regulations of Treasury Single Account(TSA).

 

So, from all the information gathered, many of those sacked might end up in prison after the EFCC must have indicted and taken them to court.