N44bn NSIPA fraud: I never transferred funds to private accounts — Halima Shehu
By Precious Mark
The suspended National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Halima Shehu, has refuted allegations of a N44 billion financial fraud leveled against her, describing the claims as entirely baseless and politically motivated.
Addressing the accusations during a broadcast interview on Monday on AriseNews, the former NSIPA boss clarified that she never diverted public money or transferred a single kobo into any personal account, maintaining that all financial movements under her watch followed established government protocols.
Shehu disclosed that rather than committing financial infractions, she was the one who raised the alarm over unauthorized signatures and severe financial control violations within the agency prior to her suspension.
According to her, she formally documented these irregularities and handed over a detailed petition on December 21, 2023, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for escalation to the President.
She expressed deep disappointment that her whistleblowing efforts were ignored, only for her to be suspended ten weeks later under allegations of looting public funds.
“When I discovered the financial control violations, I reported them to the EFCC while I was still in office,” Shehu said.
“On 21 December 2023, before my suspension, I submitted a detailed letter outlining the breaches of financial regulations, including the movement of funds from the CBN account to various destinations,” Halima Shehu stated.
Expressing shock over how her whistleblowing resulted in her suspension, she questioned the narrative that funds were looted or moved into personal domains.
“I thought I was supposed to be honored for the proactive measures I took. I thought I was supposed to be protected,” Shehu said.
“My suspension came on what transfer of 44 billion into private account, which until this moment, I’ll tell you there are false allegations against Halima Shehu. I never transferred 44 billion to any personal account,” she added.
She further challenged the anti-graft agency to show evidence of any illicit funds linked to her, explaining that the disbursements in question went strictly to legitimate payment service providers.
“The EFCC never recovered a penny from my personal account or from my families or from any of my friends.”
“The money had gone into the accounts of the payment service providers, which are existing contractors of the ministry,” she concluded.