The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq has reacted to reports that N2.72b meant for school feeding during the lockdown was diverted to private accounts.

The Minister has denied such ever happened. She challenged ICPC to publish names of persons whose names were associated with such missing funds.

Recall that the report was made public during a presentation by the Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye at the 2nd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption and was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.

The report states thus “preliminary investigation had indicated that part of the N2.67billion was diverted to private accounts. It also revealed that over N2.5 billion was misappropriated by a senior civil servant (name withheld) in the ministry of agriculture and now deceased, for himself and cronies.”

In a statement signed and released by the Special Assistant to the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on media, Nneka Ikem Anizebe on Monday, it reads: “The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development hereby informs the public that the Federal Government Colleges school feeding in question is different from the Home Grown School Feeding which is one of its Social Investment Programmes.”

“That the School Feeding under scrutiny is feeding of students in Federal Government Colleges across the country and is not under the ministry which only oversees Home Grown School Feeding for children in Primaries 1-3 in select public schools across the country.”

“That the Ministry or the Minister does not even handle or disburse funds for @NHGSFP.”

“That money for funding the Programme neither passes through the Minister nor the ministry.”

“That the over N2.5 billion which was reportedly misappropriated by a senior civil servant (name withheld) took place in a different ministry and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.”

“That the ICPC recovered N16 billion worth of assets from the said ministry which was paid into an individual account for non-official purposes and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

“The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs , Disaster Management and Social Development describes those casting aspersions on Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq as malicious and unfair and calls on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to publish the names of persons, federal colleges and school heads whose names have been found to be associated with the missing funds and also freeze the accounts where the said funds were diverted.”

“The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, therefore, calls on the general public to disregard the false reports being linked to the ministry as it is not in anyway involved n the Federal Government Colleges School Feeding.”