[Nigeria] ICPC opens payroll fraud investigation of President’s social media handler

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency - the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) - has opened an investigation into the federal payroll fraud allegedly committed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s aide for New Media, Bashir Ahmad, The Heritage Times reports.

According to reporting from Peoples Gazette, the ICPC confirmed on August 29 that Mr Ahmad’s actions had been brought to its attention via the HEDA Resource Centre, a public-interest think-tank run by anti-corruption campaigner Lanre Suraju.

On August 29, ICPC spokeswoman Azuka Ogugua said, “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.” 

Ms Ogugua did not immediately give a timeline of her agency’s investigation, however, an anti-graft official familiar with the matter said Mr Ahmad would soon be invited for questioning about the fraud.

HEDA’s petition was triggered by an August 15, 2022, article by The Gazette which reportedly detailed how Mr Ahmad defrauded Nigerian taxpayers to the tune of millions after leaving office as a presidential media aide.

Mr Ahmad said he had resigned from office in May in order to seek the ruling party’s House of Reps ticket in his home of Kano State. However, he remained under the payroll of the Presidency because he received his salary through May, June and July.

Within the stated period, Mr Ahmad received at least N3,129,530.64 in fraudulent basic earnings, with his allowances and estacodes (travel expenses) likely to be many times the base salary.

Mr Ahmad, who was recently reappointed by President Buhari after failing to pick the ticket to run for parliamentary elections, told The Gazette that he refunded the illicit payments in full to the federal coffers for the months he was not an official.

Source: The Heritage Times

(Quote via original reporting)

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency - the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) - has opened an investigation into the federal payroll fraud allegedly committed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s aide for New Media, Bashir Ahmad, The Heritage Times reports.

According to reporting from Peoples Gazette, the ICPC confirmed on August 29 that Mr Ahmad’s actions had been brought to its attention via the HEDA Resource Centre, a public-interest think-tank run by anti-corruption campaigner Lanre Suraju.

On August 29, ICPC spokeswoman Azuka Ogugua said, “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.” 

Ms Ogugua did not immediately give a timeline of her agency’s investigation, however, an anti-graft official familiar with the matter said Mr Ahmad would soon be invited for questioning about the fraud.

HEDA’s petition was triggered by an August 15, 2022, article by The Gazette which reportedly detailed how Mr Ahmad defrauded Nigerian taxpayers to the tune of millions after leaving office as a presidential media aide.

Mr Ahmad said he had resigned from office in May in order to seek the ruling party’s House of Reps ticket in his home of Kano State. However, he remained under the payroll of the Presidency because he received his salary through May, June and July.

Within the stated period, Mr Ahmad received at least N3,129,530.64 in fraudulent basic earnings, with his allowances and estacodes (travel expenses) likely to be many times the base salary.

Mr Ahmad, who was recently reappointed by President Buhari after failing to pick the ticket to run for parliamentary elections, told The Gazette that he refunded the illicit payments in full to the federal coffers for the months he was not an official.

Source: The Heritage Times

(Quote via original reporting)