EFCC says REA top officials misappropriated N12.4b …27 accounts traced to suspended MD

As part of an ongoing probe, EFCC has traced 27 accounts to the suspended managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad. It said Ahmad only declared two accounts to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The commission said it was also investigating alleged “gross misappropriation of N12.4 billion COVID-19 funds, which were disbursed to the agencies in two tranches. The investigators have suspected that N6 billion out of N12. 4 billion could have been diverted. It also revealed that about N1.2 billion, which immediately accounted for Ahmad’s suspension, was wired into the accounts of eight staff members. Also, the anti-graft commission indicted two directors of the REA for alleged involvement in malpractices in the agency. Although Ahmad and four others were the initial focus of the investigation, the EFCC uncovered the involvement of others. The allegations against top officials of REA are criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of public funds, procurement fraud and money laundering. One of the pegs of the investigation was the uncovering of 27 accounts linked with the suspended REA Managing Director.