ICPC probes NSITF officials over double gratuity payment

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has invited some top officials of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) for questioning over a gratuity payment of N47m to the Managing Director of the Fund, Mrs Maureen Allagoa.

The invitation by the anti-graft agency as discovered by ProwlingEagles is contained in a letter dated September 14, 2023, with reference number ICPC/SSD/TB/197/2023 signed by the Head of SIU, SSD of ICPC, Wakili Joshua Musa, on behalf of the Chairman of the commission, Bolaji Owasanoye, and directed to the MD of the fund.

Those invited to the headquarters of the anti-graft agency include the Head of Administration, Head of Finance and Investment, as well as Head of Audit and Inspectorate.

The letter also directed the officials to bring along “personal and secret files of Mrs Maureen Allagoa (all volumes as General Manager, Executive Director and Director-General/CEO maintained by the fund)”, all payment vouchers and evidence of transfer and records of gratuity payment made to retired staff of the fund from 2019 to date.

An ICPC source told ProwlingEagles the anti-graft agency probe into NSITF, came as a result of an internal memo of the Trust Fund, which approved two gratuities for one person. The memo entitled, “RE: Gratuity Computation for Mrs Maureen Allagoa – (Aa/11272) for the period of service from September 2016 to February 2023 as General Manager and Executive Director respectively”.

The memo, which ICPC described as a violation of the provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, showed that an amount of ₦11,916,336.93 was approved as Mrs Maureen Allagoa gratuity while serving as general manager and another ₦36,000,000 as her gratuity as executive director totalling ₦47,916 336.93.