Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) on Monday said it has begun initial findings into alleged federal payroll fraud committed by President Muhammadu Buhari’s new media aide, Bashir Ahmad.
Online newspaper, Peoples Gazette quoted ICPC spokeswoman Azuka Ogugua as saying that Mr Ahmad’s action had been brought to the attention of the anti-graft agency by way of HEDA Resource Centre, a public-interest think-tank.
“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,” he said.
The HEDA’s had petitioned the ICPC following media reports that Mr Ahmad was still earning salaries to the tune of millions of naira after leaving office as a presidential media aide .
Mr Ahmad had said he had resigned from office in May in order to seek the ruling party’s House of Reps ticket in his home Kano State.
Ms Ogugua did not immediately give a timeline of her agency’s investigation, but an anti-graft official familiar with the matter said Mr Ahmad would soon be invited for questioning about the fraud.
Despite confirming his resignation by deemphasising his employment at the Nigerian presidency, Mr Ahmad continued receiving salaries through May, June and July, until he was exposed by The Gazette’s report. He received at least N3,129,530.64 in fraudulent basic earnings, with his allowances and estacodes within the same period likely many times the salaries.
Mr Ahmad, who was earlier this month reappointed by Mr Buhari after failing to qualify to stand in the upcoming parliamentary elections, told The Gazette he refunded the illicit payments in full to the federal coffers for the months he was not an official. But he failed to supply evidence of the reimbursement or clarify what actions he took after receiving the first, second and third salaries, as well as federal allowances and estacodes, despite being a private citizen.
