N80bn Fraud: Buhari Appoints Nwabuoku As ‘Acting’ Accountant General

By Tosin Olatokunbo

President  Muhammadu  Buhari  has approved the appointment of Imo State- born Anamekwe Nwabuoku to oversee the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

Nwabuoku’s appointment  comes on the back of the ongoing investigation of the Ahmed Idris,  the disgraced Accountant General  who, allegedly, stole N80 billion from the Federal Government.

Idris was arrested on May 16 in Kano  by operatives of the Economic and Fiancial  Crimes Commission,  EFCC, who have now moved him to Abuja for further investigation.

He was alleged to have used the stolen funds to acquire properties across the country and the Middle East., and has since been suspended from office by the President.

According to the statement issued on Sunday by the Ministry of Finance and Budget, Nwabuoku will oversee the Office until investigation  is concluded on the matter.  The statement was signed by Aliyu Ahmed, Permanent Secretary (Finance) in the Ministry.

The statement said Nwabuoku will supervise the office until the conclusion of the ongoing investigation by the EFCC.

It reads:  “In this position, Mr. Anamekwe is expected to carry out his duty in strict compliance with extant rules and observe the highest sense of professionalism expected of an officer working at his level,” the statement reads.

“Mr. Anamekwe was born on 15th October, 1962 to the family of Mr. Robert O. Anamekwe in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State.

“He holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accountancy from the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu, and Master of Science (M.Sc) in Financial Management from Commonwealth University, Belize.

“He started his Civil Service career with the Centre for Democratic Studies (CDS) and rose to the position of Principal Accountant between 1992 and 1995. He was deployed to the Office of the AGF, Abuja, from 1996 to 2001 as Assistant Chief Accountant. He served at the National Assembly, Office of the Senate President, from 2001 to 2003 as Special Assistant to the Senate President on Public Affairs and his duties included Advisory Services to the Senate President on Media and other issues.

“He assumed duty as Chief Accountant in the Ministry of Defence Headquarters, Abuja, and served as Head of Accounts Administration.

Following his promotion to Assistant Director, Accounts, he was placed in charge of Funds in the Ministry from 2009 to 2012.”

Meanwhile, the magazine learnt that Idris is not likely to come back to office as the evidence against him is overwhelming. “He may end up in jail”, one EFCC source privy to the investigation, said on Sunday.