Centre For Public Accountability Commends ICPC, Asks EFCC To Investigate PENCOM DG, Dahir-Umar

The Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) has commended the swift action of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on its effort to probe the Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Aisha Dahir-Umar.

This follows an earlier petition written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately commence investigations into alleged high-level corruption in PENCOM under the watch of Dahir-Umar.

Naija News gathered that even though the CPA applauded the ICPC for taking action on the request, it also demanded that the EFCC should also look into the matter as a matter of urgency.

It was learnt that the CPA Executive Director, Olufemi Lawson in December 2022 signed a petition sent to the agency for the PENCOM boss to be investigated for allegedly being paid tens of thousands of foreign currencies for courses she never attended during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

This platform gathered that the CPA’s earlier petition to the anti-graft agencies stated that “It is on this basis that we write this petition to your commission for a thorough investigation, into several acts of corruption, particularly as related, into several funds received by Aisha Dahiru Umar, from PENCOM for foreign trips and courses that she never attended.

“In recent times, it has become a practice for office holders to swindle public funds under the guise of foreign courses but subsequently divert same into private pockets.

“We hope to also intimate you, with the fact that after collecting those funds, Aisha Dahiru Umar, hides in her Abuja residence or outside Abuja for a few days and return to work pocketing Tens of millions of Naira and several sums of foreign currency.

“This act corruption was also repeated a few weeks/months ago as she was paid over Forty million Naira, and after being questioned by a whistleblower, with a threat to expose her, she quickly returned about Twenty-Five million, out of the said amount.

“During the COVID-19 global pandemic, Aisha Dahiru Umar, was paid Tens of thousands of foreign currencies, for courses she never attended.

“We urge the EFCC to carry out an audit of payments made to her for foreign courses, requesting for attendance certificates, air tickets and boarding passes as proof of attendance.

“This will help to identify if the attached bank statements and payment advices correspond, which we believe will uncover the massive fraud and gross abuse of office with such impunity.

“PENCOM had paid about N1 billion into her various bank accounts between 2015 till date which we believed your commission can verify via the BVN system.

“During her tenure as acting DG, from the proceeds of such massive fraud, she purchased a house worth hundreds of millions of Naira located at plot 309, No.20 Adamu Aliero Crescent Guzape Abuja. Also from the travel fraud and other corrupt activities at PENCOM, She bought a N700 million property at No. 53 Nelson Mandela, Asokoro, Abuja.

“She has also secretly acquired several assets with family members fronting for her including Millions of Naira paid into accounts of family members. She also has allocated several assets of the commission including cars and uses commission staff to service houses of her relatives and has defrauded the commission of Millions of Naira for the monthly procurement of diesel fuel for two houses belonging to her children.

“A forensic audit of her expenses and the finances of PENCOM should be carried out to stop the looting in the public interest. This subject matter is not new to you and several Nigerians have repeatedly drawn your attention to this. We have decided to take up this challenge after you called for a petition through your social media account on Twitter.

“We, therefore, call on you to investigate this act, trace the money and ensure that same is not channeled towards any purpose other being returned back to the commission.”

Meanwhile, Naija News reported two weeks ago that Dahir-Umar in a statement after the petition said the commission is ready to open its books for scrutiny, adding that PenCom is aware of a coordinated plan to bring the commission into disrepute “with frivolous petitions.”

She said: “These elements, some of whom are yet to come to terms with the fact that PenCom is no longer at their beck and call, have been sponsoring negative media reports and getting faceless groups to write frivolous petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“Although some low-level media outfits are giving a voice to these defamatory petitions, those who know how we conduct our affairs at PenCom are not in any way bothered. Since I took over as the DG, we have undertaken far-reaching reforms within the organisation which are yielding positive results.”

However, Naija News gathered that Lawson applauded the ICPC for having commenced an investigation into the allegations against the PENCOM boss, saying that the anti-graft agency has shown greater commitment to exemplary service delivery to all its stakeholders.

The CPA boss pointed out that “We commend the ICPC for swift action but it is also important that we inform them not to go to sleep over this as we expect that effort must be put in place to bring her too book for her corrupt practices.

“We understand that the woman (Aisha Dahir-Umar) in question has boasted to compromise everyone as she tried to infiltrate the CSO organization calling for her prosecution.”