In an apparent breach of statutory spending guidelines, Nigeria’s Ministry of Women Affairs disbursed N71,219,000 into the personal bank accounts of two staff members within a single day. The funds were earmarked for an upcoming conference promoting female political involvement ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Transaction records captured on Govspend—a platform run by civic tech organization BudgIT that tracks data from the federal government’s Open Treasury Portal—reveal that the total sum was wired in seven separate tranches on March 8. The recipients were named as Shaba Abayomi Olawole, who received four payments, and Dibor Ugochukwu C., who received three, to cover staff mobilization costs across Bauchi, Kano, Kwara, and Lagos states.
According to the portal’s procurement descriptions, Olawole received two distinct deposits of N12,719,000 on the same date. These sums were designated as advance payments for hall rentals, transit, and accommodation for two guest speakers at events planned for Lagos and Ilorin. Ugochukwu was credited with matching allocations of N12,719,000 each for corresponding sessions in Kano and Bauchi.
Additionally, Olawole was granted two separate transfers of N6,781,000 to cover domestic travel allowances, airfare, and incidental expenses for ministry personnel travelling to Lagos and Kwara. Ugochukwu was paid an identical sum of N6,781,000 for the Kano segment. Together, the seven transactions brought the day’s expenditure to N71.219 million.
Directing state funds into personal accounts directly violates Section 713, Chapter 7 of the 2009 Financial Regulations, which states that public funds must never enter private bank accounts and that any civil servant carrying out such transfers is presumed by law to have acted with fraudulent intent.
Although fiscal provisions under Chapter 10, Section 1001 permit imprests when vouchers cannot be immediately produced, such advances require explicit approval and issuance through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation or authorized ministerial accounting heads. The disbursements made by the Women Affairs Ministry did not pass through the Accountant-General’s office.
