Senate Joint Committee on Establishment, States and Local Governments, yesterday, traced N26 billion belonging to the Police Pension Funds to five commercial banks.
The committee probing the alleged fraudulent management of the pension scheme also uncovered four illegal accounts holding N3 billion of pension funds in Guarantee Trust Bank, GTB.
Besides, the committee has summoned two civil servants, Mr. Ibrahim Abdulkarim of the Ministry of Transport and Idu Mathias to appear before it and explain why over N140 million was allegedly siphoned through their accounts.
The N26 billion traced to GTB, First Bank, Fidelity Bank, Ecobank and UBA formed part of the N28 billion believed to have been recovered by the chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina.
But Assistant Chief Accountant in the Police Pension Office, Mr. Toyin Ishola, who gave the breakdown of the funds lodged in the banks disputed the claims that the money was recovered by Maina.
He told the committee that no money was recovered because they were all deposited in accounts that were frozen by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, following allegations of fraud at the Police Pension Office.
Breaking down the lodgments, he said: “First Bank, Maitama has N10 billion; Fidelity Bank N8 billion; UBA has N3 billion; Ecobank has N3 billion and GTB, N3 billion. This money forms part of the N31 billion that the chairman of the task team said he recovered, but they have been there in frozen accounts.”
On the illegal account in GTB, Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje, who appeared before the committee confirmed that the accounts were opened without authorization from Accountant General of the Federation, AGF.
Agbaje while responding to questions from the committee chairman, Senator Aloysius Etok and co-chairman, Kabiru Gaya, said it was possible to deposit funds on placement in the name of a person without opening an account.
Senate summons 2 civil servants
Meanwhile, the committee has ordered Abdulkarim and Mathias to appear before it today to explain why over N140 million was siphoned through their accounts with Zenith Bank.
Senator Gaya who again drew the attention of the Executive Director of Zenith Bank, Andy Ojie to multiple cash withdrawals of N140 million by Abdulkarim and Mathias within eight days wondered why civil servants should make such transactions.
He asked: “These are civil servants who are in charge of pension on daily basis. We have transfer of N11.6 million, N86 million and N10.5 million. I am not comfortable where account opened by a civil servant would be having over N8 million everyday for over eight days. Is it salary? Over N100 million paid into an individual account?”
But Mr. Ojei told the committee that it was not salary account, adding that most of the transactions were through electronic transfer and that the last transaction by Abdulkarim was withdrawal of N33,000 on March 20.
Etok while issuing the summons said, “Ibrahim Abdulkarim must appear before us tomorrow (today). He is from the Ministry of Transport. Idu Mathias too, a lot of money has been siphoned through their accounts.”
Source:Vanguardngr