The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, is said to be investigating Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, the immediate-past lawmaker representing Aniocha and Oshimili Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, for alleged diversion of government property, The Witness reports.

It is reliably gathered that the anti-graft agency is probing the former minority leader of the Green Chamber for allegedly diverting constituency projects and converting the same to personal use while he was in the House.

As part of its investigation, the ICPC has sealed Elumelu’s multi-million-naira office building in Asaba, Delta State.

A source told our correspondent that the massive edifice was a project the former lawmaker allegedly facilitated to the constituency but converted for personal use. The project was tagged: Asaba Massacre Monument Center.

When contacted, ICPC Spokesman, Demola Bakare, told The Witness via a text message that “A project facilitated by Hon. Ndidi Elumelu, former HoR member, and which was executed by the Federal Cooperative College Oji River, Enugu State was tracked under the phase 7 CEPTI exercise.

“The project is the construction and furnishings of Asaba Massacre Monument. ICPC Delta tracking team discovered that the project has not been handed over to the government after completion, which would thus necessitate commencement of further investigation. Further investigation will commence any moment after the collation of all tracking reports from all tracking teams,” he said.

Elumelu did not respond to inquiries as at press time.

Recall, ICPC had said it intercepted and recovered the sum of N30 billion meant for constituency projects in one year.

The anti-graft agency said it made the recoveries from items listed in the budget which were reportedly diverted by some lawmakers. The ICPC added that they were uncovered under the Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Initiative (CEPTI) phase 7, 2024 which was carried out between December 2023 and December 2024.

Ndudi Elumelu was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011. During his first two terms, he was chairman of the House Committee on Power from 2007 to 2010 and chairman of the House Committee on Health from 2011 to 2015. In 2014, he contested for the governorship primaries of Delta State which he lost, thereby losing his seat at the house to Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor.

In 2019, he returned to the House of Representatives for a third term.

In February 2023, he lost the house of representatives election to the Labour Party candidate, Ngozi Okolie.

Source: The Witness

Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed has dismissed five commissioners from his cabinet.

The decision, announced in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Comrade Mukhtar Gidado, is to reinvigorate the administration for enhanced service delivery.

The statement explained that the cabinet reconstitution aligned with the Governor’s vision of addressing emerging challenges and injecting fresh ideas into the government.

The affected commissioners are:

Dr. Jamila Dahiru – Commissioner for Education

Barr. Abubakar Abdulhameed Bununu – Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs

Comrade Usman Danturaki – Commissioner for Information and Communication

Professor Simon Madugu Yalams – Commissioner for Agriculture

Alhaji Yakubu Ibrahim Hamza – Commissioner for Religious Affairs and Societal Reorientation

The governor expressed his appreciation for their dedication and contributions to the development of Bauchi State, noting that their efforts have been instrumental in advancing key policies and initiatives.

“This cabinet reshuffle is a routine measure aimed at enhancing the administration’s effectiveness,” the Governor stated.

In a related development, Governor Mohammed has forwarded the names of new nominees to the Bauchi State House of Assembly for security clearance and confirmation as commissioners. The nominees include:

Hon. Isa Babayo Tilde – Toro Local Government

Abdullahi Mohammed – Misau Local Government

Dr. Bala Musa Lukshi – Dass Local Government

Usman Usman Shehu – Shira Local Government

Iliyasu Aliyu Gital – Tafawa Balewa Local Government

Prof. Titus Saul Ketkukah – Tafawa Balewa Local Government

Hon. Adamu Babayo Gabarin – Darazo Local Government

Dr. Mohammed Lawal Rimin Zayam – Toro Local Government

Mohammed reiterated his commitment to fulfilling the administration’s mandate, assuring the people of Bauchi State that his government remained focused on delivering impactful development and improving the welfare of all residents.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Mr Mele Kolo Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) Limited to “account for and explain the whereabouts of the alleged missing N825bn and $2.5bn meant for ‘refinery rehabilitation’ and other oil revenues, as documented in the 2021 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.”

SERAP said the annual report was published on Thursday 27 November 2024.

SERAP urged Mr Kyari “to identify those suspected to be responsible for the disappeared oil money and hand them over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”

SERAP also urged him “to formally invite former president Olusegun Obasanjo to tour Nigeria’s refineries and to extend your invitation to the EFCC and ICPC to monitor the operations of the refineries, and any spending on them, including the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.”

In the letter dated 4 January 2025 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “We welcome your timely public invitation to former president Obasanjo ‘to tour the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.’”

SERAP said, “while your invitation is clearly not ‘disrespectful’, contrary to the claims by the former president because no one is above the law, we urge you to formally invite him, and to extend your invitation to the EFCC and ICPC for the sake of transparency and accountability.”

SERAP also said, “Your public invitation to Obasanjo is well-justified, and entirely consistent with the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international obligations on the obligations of the NNPCL and the roles of citizens in preventing and combating grand corruption.”

The letter, read in part: “The grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest a grave violation of the public trust and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, national anticorruption laws, and the country’s international obligations.”

“The allegations have also undermined economic development of the country, trapped the majority of Nigerians in poverty and deprived them of opportunities.”

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel the NNPCL to comply with our requests in the public interest.”

“According to the recently published 2021 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) failed to account for over N825 billion and USD$2.5 billion of public funds meant for ‘refinery rehabilitation’ and repairs, and other oil revenues.”

“The Auditor-General fears that the money may be missing.”

“The NNPCL reportedly failed to account for over N82 billion [N82,951,595,510.47] meant for ‘refinery rehabilitation and repairs.’ The ‘money was deducted from the sale of Crude Oil and Gas between 2020 and 2021’.”

“The Auditor-General fears the money may be missing. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the Federation Account. He also wants the NNPCL ‘to ensure that the amounts due for the Federation Account are not subjected to any deductions before remittance of net.’”

“The NNPCL also reportedly failed to account for over N343 billion [N343,642,598,726.51] ‘being proceeds from domestic crude sales.’ The ‘money, meant for ‘pipelines maintenance and management costs, was unilaterally deducted from the gross domestic crude sales.’”

“The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants the NNPCL to hand over those suspected to be involved to the EFCC and ICPC.”

“The NNPCL also reportedly failed to account for over N83 billion [N83,659,813,739.99] ‘being miscellaneous income from the NNPC joint venture operations from 2016 to 2020.’ The ‘money was withdrawn from the CBN/NNPC sinking fund account [a suspense account].’”

“The Auditor-General is concerned that this practice ‘has led the Federation to resort to borrowings.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”

“The NNPCL also reportedly failed to account for over N204 billion [N204,853,744,047.39] ‘being unjustified deductions from the oil royalties for 2021.’ The ‘money was due to Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) now Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).’”

“The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”

“The NNPCL also reportedly failed to account for over N3.7 billion [N3,748,581,281.27] ‘being money purportedly paid to a Company as a shortfall on sales of MT cargo of PMS.’ The Auditor-General fears the money may be missing. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”

“The NNPCL also reportedly failed to account for over N28 billion [N28,654,179,867.00] ‘being outstanding bridging allowance from NNPC retail for 2021.’”

“The NNPCL failed to account for over N13.5 billion [N13,5559,658,148.91] ‘being outstanding bridging allowance claims from three major oil marketers in 2021.’”

“The Auditor-General is concerned that this ‘may have resulted in difficulty in funding the 2021 budget.’ He wants ‘the money recovered from both the NNPC retail and the major oil marketers and remitted to the Federation Account.’”

“The NNPCL also reportedly failed to account for over N15 billion [N14,134,947,949.80 and N1,087,533,332.62] ‘being outstanding revenues from debts owed by twenty-six marketers for 2021.’ The Auditor-General wants ‘the money recovered from the oil marketers and remitted to the Federation Account.’”

“The NNPCL reportedly failed to account for over $29.6 million [$29,648,970.36] ‘being outstanding royalties payable to the Department of Petroleum Resources CBN account.’ The Auditor-General is concerned this ‘may have resulted in difficulty in funding the 2021 budget.’ He wants the money recovered.’”

“The NNPCL failed to collect over $2 billion [$2,260,448,992.45] ‘being outstanding oil royalties from oil companies for 2021’, and failed to collect over N48 billion [N48,218,163,192.67] ‘also being outstanding oil royalties from oil companies.’”

“The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may be missing.’ He is concerned that this ‘may have resulted in difficulty in funding the 2021 budget.’ He wants ‘the money recovered from the oil companies and remitted to the Federation Account.’”

SERAP notes that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.”

“The Auditor-General has for many years documented reports of disappearance of public funds from the NNPC. Nigerians continue to bear the brunt of these missing public funds meant for refinery rehabilitation.”