The federal government paid N218,291,282.00 million into four individual accounts on April 17, 2024, as medical expense refunds. However, one of the beneficiaries had died seven years earlier. This raised suspicion and exposed the government’s continued violation of financial regulations prohibiting such transactions, WikkiTimes can report.
Details of the transactions were published on the Open Treasury Portal, a platform used by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to archive the government’s daily spending.
Although such transactions are considered illegal as explained in Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009, little attention was paid to the anomaly until January 2024 when the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, was suspended from office for diverting public funds into private accounts.
A Premium Times report subsequently revealed how N159 billion was paid into individual accounts in six years under former president Muhammadu Buhari. The report showed the issue is a rampant one in the country and not peculiar only to the former minister.
According to Chapter Seven, section 713 of the regulation, “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private account.”
The Beneficiaries of the Medical Expense Refunds
Joseph Oluseyi Malomo, a former presidential aide and chaplain in Aso Rock, got the highest “refund” among the beneficiaries. A total of N143,042,720.46 million was “refunded” to the chaplain.
He was followed by Adenike Abina, who got N48,811,858.04 million.
Mrs Abina died on July 11, 2017, according to our findings. It is not clear if she was a civil servant, but the federal government described her as the “wife of Mr Abina Kazeem.”
“Today 11th July the 2nd anniversary of your passage to the great beyond … It’s been tough and difficult and the reality setting in gradually but like in all situations we give God the Glory and all thanks for the life of our Matriarch Princess Adenike Kazeem- Abina…,” the deceased’s husband, Mr Abina posted on Facebook in 2019.
WikkiTimes could not verify whether Mr Abina works with the federal government. However, some of his Facebook posts as seen here and here, showed that he’s a supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
As of press time, Mr Abina has not responded to a message sent to him, asking if he was aware that his late wife was paid a medical expense of N48 million seven years after her demise.
Andrew David Adejo, a former permanent secretary at the Ministry of Education, received a refund of N16,912,590.00 million. Also, Moturayo Zainab, who was described as the “daughter of Mr Alade Surajudeen,” received a refund of N9,524,315.50 million.
WikkiTimes contacted Bawa Mokwa, the spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, asking for clarification regarding our findings.
Mr Mokwa in a phone conversation declined to comment on our findings, asking our reporter to meet with him physically. In addition to that, he requested that WikkiTimes write a letter to the OAGF.
According to him, the letter will pass through various departments in the OAGF before getting to his office. He said this process will determine the time he will respond to our inquiry.
