The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says the $76 million found in an Abuja apartment associated with one of its female staff does not belong to it.
But who exactly owns it, though an NDIC statement seemed to suggest its female staff named over the mind boggling amount once worked for a bank and was an account officer to a former permanent secretary mentioned in connection with the money?
The money scandal was first reported on by two online newspapers: Peoples Gazette and Sahara Reporters.
Aisha Sadiq Odariko, a manager in charge of an enterprise risk unit at the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and Mohammed Kyari Dikwa, a retired permanent secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance,
were the two names that featured in connection with the huge sum.
Read the statement by the NDIC Director of Communications and Public Affairs Department, Bashir Nuhu:
“The attention of the Management of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance
Corporation (NDIC) has been drawn to the media report by the Peoples’ Gazette and Sahara Reporters regarding allegations of financial impropriety involving one of our staff members.
“We would like to emphasize that while we are assessing the veracity of the reported incident, the alleged events are unrelated to the operations of the Corporation. Nonetheless, as a responsible Federal Institution, we are committed to uncovering the truth and addressing the matter in an appropriate manner.
“Following our preliminary investigations into the allegations, we have discovered that the staff member in question was previously employed at a commercial bank as an account officer to the Federal Government Official referenced in the report before joining the NDIC in 2017.
“It is important to note that during her tenure at the bank, she asserts that she was not involved in any improper financial transactions with anyone. However, we remain diligent in our pursuit of any contradictory information and will not hesitate to take appropriate action should it arise concerning the staff member involved.
“The NDIC maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards financial impropriety and any actions that contravene our core values, corporate culture, and code of conduct.
“We wish to emphasize that the NDIC is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in our corporate governance practices, which we have diligently cultivated over the past three decades of our existence in fulfilling our role of depositor protection and contributing to financial system stability.”