The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has summoned some top employees of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) for interrogation in connection with an N47 million gratuity payment to the Fund’s Managing Director, Mrs Maureen Allagoa.
Those invited include the Head of Administration, Head of Finance and Investment, and Head of Audit and Inspectorate, according to a letter dated September 14, 2023, with reference number ICPC/SSD/TB/197/2023 and addressed to the fund’s MD.
The letter, issued by the anti-graft agency’s Head of SIU, SSD, Wakili Joshua Musa, on behalf of the commission’s Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye, and acquired exclusively by Daily Trust, asked all invited officials to report to the anti-graft agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
It further instructed authorities to provide “personal and secret files of Mrs Maureen Allagoa (all volumes as General Manager, Executive Director, and Director-General/CEO maintained by the fund)” as well as details of gratuity payments given to retiring fund employees from 2019 to present.
The letter further stated that all payment vouchers and documentation of transfer would be included in the records of gratuity payments made to retired workers of the fund from 2019 to date.
The Daily Trust alleged that the MD sanctioned N47m in gratuity for herself while still in active duty.
A letter titled “RE: Gratuity Computation for Mrs Maureen Allagoa – (Aa/11272) for the period of service from September 2016 to February 2023 as General Manager and Executive Director respectively” authorised the payment to Mrs Allagoa.
It revealed that N11,916,336.93 was granted as her gratuity as general manager and N36,000,000 was approved as her gratuity as executive director, totaling N47,916 336.93.
The document, with the Reference Number: NSITF/AC/I&A/5/S.4/B117 and dated July 3, 2023, was sent from the Principal Manager, Audit and Inspectorate to the Deputy General Manager, Head, Audit and Inspectorate via the Assistant General Manager, Head, Audit and Inspectorate.
But the ICPC, in its letter titled:
“INVESTIGATION ACTIVITIES: LETTER OF INVITATION /REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS”,described the payment as a violation of the provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
Although some agency officials, including the spokeswoman, Nwachukwu Godson, told our correspondent during a recent visit to the fund’s offices that the MD refunded the money once it became public knowledge, Daily Trust was unable to establish the authenticity of the assertion.
According to Daily Trust, Mrs. Allagoa immediately authorized the General Manager of Human Resources Management to amend all of her records in the file, including payment approval for her retirement benefits from the former Minister of Labour.
On Thursday, many phone calls (both voice and WhatsApp) to the ICPC’s spokeswoman, Azuka Ogugua, went unanswered.
She had yet to respond to the SMS and WhatsApp messages sent to her at the time of reporting this story.
(Daily Trust)