“I never diverted ₦44bn,” Ex-NSIPA boss declares

Former National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Halima Shehu, has denied allegations that she diverted ₦44 billion, insisting that neither she nor any member of her family benefited from funds meant for the agency’s social intervention programmes.

Speaking on Arise Television on Monday, Shehu said she uncovered serious financial irregularities shortly after assuming office and reported them to the appropriate authorities before she was suspended in December 2023.

According to her, she raised concerns with the then Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, after discovering weak financial controls within the agency. She alleged that funds were transferred without her approval, while some programme managers appointed by the minister operated outside NSIPA’s established administrative framework.

“There were movements of funds that I neither approved nor authorised,” Shehu said, alleging that the transactions were carried out without her knowledge or consent.

She further disclosed that she petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), accusing some officials of breaching due process in the management of the agency’s finances.

Shehu said her decision to report the alleged irregularities was followed by her suspension barely 10 weeks later, arguing that she was punished instead of being protected as a whistleblower.

Rejecting allegations that she diverted ₦44 billion, the former NSIPA boss maintained that investigators did not trace any public funds to her personal accounts or those of her relatives and associates.

“I never transferred ₦44 billion to any personal account. The EFCC never recovered a kobo from my account, my family’s account or any friend’s account,” she said.

She explained that the transactions under investigation involved payments to licensed service providers and financial institutions responsible for disbursing government social intervention funds to beneficiaries, not transfers to private accounts.

Shehu said she fully cooperated with investigators, submitting documents and other evidence to support her position throughout the probe.

Calling on President Bola Tinubu to ensure transparency, she urged the Federal Government to make public the findings of investigations into NSIPA, saying the truth would clear her name.

“My integrity is my greatest asset. I may have made administrative mistakes, but I am not corrupt, and I did not divert funds meant for poor and vulnerable Nigerians,” she stated.