‘I flagged irregularities before my suspension’ — Halima Shehu rejects ₦44bn diversion allegation

Halima Shehu, who served as the former National Coordinator and CEO of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), has vehemently denied allegations that she misappropriated N44 billion in a bid to assure everyone that there was never any transfer of money into her personal account.

Addressing herself at an interview on Arise Television, Shehu revealed that she informed the anti-graft bodies and relevant government agencies about financial misconducts within the agency prior to her suspension in December 2023.

As per her claims, she found out that there were weak financial processes immediately upon taking over as head of the organization and had made such known to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs at that time – Betta Edu.

“There were movements of funds that I didn’t give approval for, didn’t authorise and didn’t consent to,” Shehu said, adding that transactions were allegedly carried out without her knowledge.

The former NSIPA boss further claimed that she formally petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, over the alleged violations before she was suspended.

Shehu maintained that rather than being protected as a whistleblower, she was removed from office barely 10 weeks after escalating the matter.

Rejecting allegations that she diverted N44 billion, she stated that investigators never traced any funds to her or members of her family.

“I never transferred N44 billion to any personal account. The EFCC never recovered a penny from my account, my family’s account, or any friend’s account,” she said.

She explained that the transfers under scrutiny were payments made to licensed service providers and financial institutions responsible for disbursing funds to beneficiaries of government social intervention programmes.

Shehu said she fully cooperated with the EFCC investigation and provided documents and evidence to support her claims.

The former NSIPA chief urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure that the findings of investigations into the agency are made public.

“My integrity is my asset. I may have made administrative mistakes, but I am not corrupt and I did not take funds meant for poor and vulnerable Nigerians,” she said.

Shehu’s clarification comes amid ongoing scrutiny of financial activities linked to the administration of social investment programmes under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.