$76m Cache: NDIC Investigating Allegations Against Staff

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has dissociated itself from the alleged $76million cache involving a staff of the Corporation.

LEADERSHIP recalls reports in some section of the media that a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Kyari Dikwa, and Aisha Sadiq Odariko, a manager at the NDIC, allegedly hoarded $76 million cash in a house in Apo District of Abuja.

But, in a statement by its director, Communications & Public Affairs, Bashir A. Nuhu, on Saturday, the NDIC emphasised that while it was assessing the veracity of the reported incident, the alleged action was unrelated to the operations of the Corporation.

According to the Corporation, preliminary investigations into the allegations, have shown that the staff member in question was previously employed at a commercial bank as an account officer to the former permanent secretary, Dikwa, before joining the NDIC in 2017.

The deposit insurance corporation also said Odariko asserted that she was not involved in any improper financial transactions with anyone, during her tenure at the NDIC.

The statement reads in part, “The attention of the management of the NDIC has been drawn to the media report by the Peoples’ Gazette and Sahara Reporters regarding allegations of financial impropriety involving one of our staff members.

“We would like to emphasise that while we are assessing the veracity of the reported incident, the alleged events are unrelated to the operations of the Corporation.

“Nonetheless, as a responsible Federal Institution, we are committed to uncovering the truth and addressing the matter in an appropriate manner.

“We remain diligent in our pursuit of any contradictory information and will not hesitate to take appropriate action should it arise concerning the staff member involved.

“The NDIC maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards financial impropriety and any actions that contravene our core values, corporate culture, and code of conduct.

“We wish to emphasise that the NDIC is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in our corporate governance practices, which we have diligently cultivated over the past three decades of our existence in fulfilling our role of depositor protection and contributing to financial system stability,” the Corporation stated.

In 2020, it was alleged that Dr. Mohammed Kyari Dikwa and Aisha Sadiq Odariko kept $76 million cash in a house in Apo District of Abuja now identified as Dikwa’s office.

According to media reports, scrap metal scavengers looking for COVID-19 palliatives were said to have stumbled on the cash instead of palliatives and made away with $4million.

Dikwa was the Director, Special Projects and pioneer Secretary, Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) under the Office of the Minister of Finance.