Former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, has returned home after being interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). However, she is expected to return to the EFCC office today to clarify various flagged issues that arose during preliminary investigations.
During her tenure, Umar-Farouq is being questioned over allegations of corruption in the handling of N37.1 billion in social intervention funds. The EFCC had earlier questioned Halima Shehu, the suspended National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), who was supervised by the ministry.
The commission detained Mrs. Shehu after raiding NSIPA’s office in the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, on January 2. She was held for questioning until the next day when she was released on bail. Mrs. Shehu, who President Bola Tinubu recently suspended, oversaw the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. She was replaced with Akindele Egbuwalo in an acting capacity.