Dare Babalola
Halima Shehu, former National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), has denied allegations of diverting N44 billion in public funds.
Shehu, who was suspended by President Bola Tinubu in January 2024, claimed the figures are incorrect and that funds were transferred to commercial banks and payment service providers for beneficiary disbursement, not personal accounts.
In a recent interview with FactNews, Shehu maintained that she never made transfers to personal accounts, describing allegations of recovering the sum from her personal accounts as baseless.
She explained, “There was no N44 billion. The figures are not even correct. Yes, funds were transferred to commercial banks and to payment service providers but the question Nigerians should be asking is, ‘the transfer of the funds that happened under Halima Shehu’s supervision, is that the right thing to do?’
“Because when you’re working with funds and you’re supposed to deliver to beneficiaries after digitisation, how are you expected to get the funds to the beneficiaries? Am I going to sit in the comfort zone of my house and start to call beneficiaries, come and collect?
“There was never a transfer of funds by Halima Shehu to personal accounts. No structure that allows that even in the CBN.
“To think that, overnight, they said in two days that Halima Shehu transferred N44 billion to personal accounts. It sounds absurd.”
Shehu was investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) (EFCC) over alleged unauthorized withdrawals from NSIPA accounts. The probe continues, with Shehu’s legal team maintaining her innocence and questioning the basis of the allegations.
