News Obiaks News

The Federal Government (FG) is yet enmeshed in another scandal as it was gathered that they failed to pay the whistle-blower who exposed the secret $223m NNPC account. It was gathered that the whistle-blower whose name was withheld had approached the AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN), in June 2018 and informed him of an account named, ‘NNPC Brass LNG INV. Fund’ with number 1750027157 domiciled in Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank).
        It was reported that bank documents showed that the account was opened with the sum of $328, 998, 818.24 on May 31, 2014, at the Asokoro branch of the bank, and they've failed to remit the money to the Central Bank of Nigeria in contravention of the Treasury Single Account policy of the Federal Government. The whistle-blower who was referred to the Special Investigation Panel who he briefed of his findings, subsequently accompanied officials of the panel to the bank where top officials were arrested and made statements. It was agreed that the money will be transferred by installments, as it will affect the bank negatively. The whistle-blower signed a bond along with the AGF which was witnessed by Ladidi Mohammed, the Head, Asset Recovery and Management Unit at the AGF’s office after he played his part.  However even after $30m was transferred from the said account to the CBN in three tranches on March 1, 2019, March 6, 2019 and April 25, the FG has failed to pay the whistle-blower who exposed the secret $223m NNPC account his commission, 11 months after the agreement was signed.  In a letter signed by the whistle-blower’s lawyer, Aliyu Lemu, which was addressed to the AGF, the whistle-blower who lamented the failure of the government to honour the agreement, threatened to sue the Federal Government if he was not paid his commission within seven days.