Minister In Charge of N-Power Reacts To Trending Report She Diverted School Feeding Funds In Nigeria

As the Nigerian Government keep on with the N-Power programme, Sadiya Farouq, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development has dissociated herself from a trending report that N2.72 billion meant for school-feeding during the COVID-19 lockdown was diverted to private accounts, AllNews reports.

In a statement on Monday by Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the Special Assistant on Media to Farouq, the Zamfara-born politician exonerated her ministry.

AllNews recalls that Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) had said on Monday that fraudulent payments were made to some federal colleges.

Prof. Owasanoye also revealed that over N2.5 billion was appropriated by a late senior civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture for himself and cronies.

The commission highlighted other assets recovered in the Agriculture ministry to include 18 buildings, 12 business premises and 25 plots of land.

Prof. Owasanoye said under Open Treasury Portal review carried out between January to August 15, 2020, out of 268 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) 72 of them had cumulative infractions of N90 million.

He said while 33 MDAs tendered explanations that N4.1 billion was transferred to sub-TSA, N4.2 billion paid to individuals had no satisfactory explanations.

But some Nigerians tied the funds divertion to Farouq. Perhaps because Farouq's ministry oversees the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, the N-Power, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), as well as the Conditional Cash Transfer, all rolled out by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

The ministry meanwhile has come out to deny any link with the sharp practice.

Read Farouq's full rebuttal below:

SADIYA UMAR FAROUQ DISTANCES SELF FROM DIVERTED SCHOOL FEEDING FUNDS

The Ministry of of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development of Nigeria wishes to dissociate itself from a trending report in the media titled “N2.72b for School Feeding During Lockdown Diverted To Private Accounts”.

The report emanated after a presentation by the Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye at the 2nd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption and was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.

The report states thus “preliminary investigation had indicated that part of the N2.67billion was diverted 2 private accounts. It also revealed that over N2.5 billion was misappropriated by a senior civil servant in the min. of agriculture and now deceased, for himself & cronies”.

The statement by ICPC was twisted and misinterpreted by mischief makers and directed at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development hereby informs the public that the Federal Government Colleges school feeding in question is different from the Home Grown School Feeding which is one of its Social Investment Programmes.

That the over N2.5 billion which was reportedly misappropriated by a senior civil servant (name withheld) took place in a different ministry and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

That the School Feeding under scrutiny is feeding of students in Federal Government Colleges across the country and is not under the of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development of Nigeria which only oversees Home Grown School Feeding for children in Primaries 1-3 in select public schools across the country.

That the ICPC recovered N16 billion worth of assets from the said ministry which was paid into an individual account for non-official purposes and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development of Nigeria describes those casting aspersions on the Minister Farouq as malicious and unfair and calls on ICPC to publish the names of persons, federal colleges and school heads whose names have been found to be associated with the missing funds and also freeze the accounts.

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The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs therefore calls on the general public to disregard the false reports being linked to the ministry as it is not in anyway involved in the Federal Government Colleges School Feeding.