Sadiya Umar Farouk, the former minister of social development, disaster management, and humanitarian affairs, has arrived at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to face allegations of fraud.
The ex-minister is set to undergo interrogation as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged laundering of N37.10 billion during her tenure in office, with the funds purportedly routed through a contractor named James Okwete.
Umar-Farouk complied with the EFCC’s invitation and arrived at their headquarters at approximately 10 am on Monday, January 8. She also took to her X page around 10:20 am to confirm her presence at the EFCC headquarters.
She stated,
The ex-minister, who held office during the administration of the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, received an invitation from the anti-graft agency last week as part of an investigation into her actions during her tenure in the ministry.
It was previously reported that citing health concerns, the former Minister had formally written to the EFCC, requesting an extension of the deadline for her meeting with EFCC interrogators regarding the ongoing probe into the N37.17 billion allegedly laundered during her term through the contractor Okwete.
In an earlier post on X, the embattled Minister had denied allegations against her during her time in office.
In ..., she denied ever working with an agent called James Okwete and described media reports linking her to the person as spurious.
She stated, “James Okwete neither worked for me nor represented in any way whatsoever. The linkages and associations to my person are spurious.
While I resist the urge to engage in any media trial whatsoever, I have however contacted my Legal Team to explore possible options to seek redress for the malicious attack on”