FAAN employees, however, have raised concerns that the report might have been manipulated not to indict some senior officials in the agency.
The committee set up by the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma, to investigate how N70 million meant for furniture allowances between 2013 and 2016 was successfully diverted by a level grade 6 officer in the agency, Christy Olabode, is expected to submit its findings to the management by Friday this week or early next week.
FAAN employees, however, have raised concerns that the report might have been manipulated not to indict some senior officials in the agency.
The source also confided in our correspondent that immediately after the submission of the report, a copy would immediately be sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation.
A SaharaReporters correspondent gathered that the committee, which was formed about three months ago after the fraud was detected, has changed its leadership.
The source alleged that the pioneer chairman, one O. Oduwole, was removed by Mr. Dunoma based on the suspicion that he might not want to comprise in his report, a situation some top echelons in the FAAN were not comfortable with.
Mr. Oduwole currently works in the medical department at the agency’s headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
Mr. Oduwole was allegedly replaced by the General Manager of Human Resources in the same agency, Mr. Sanni, who many see as a stooge of the management.
The source said, “The committee has finished its findings on the diversion of a level 6 officer in the agency. It’s really a shame that a level 6 officer could divert so much.
“However, some of those in the system are not comfortable with the removal of Dr. Oduwole, who we all know is very firm on anything involving corrupt practices. The reason for his removal is not made known by the management and immediately he was removed, the GM Human Resources, Mr. Sanni, was brought in to replace him. To us, Sanni can easily be manipulated by the management, but we are waiting for the outcome of the report, which is likely to be this Friday or early next week,” the source disclosed.
It was also gathered that the major suspect, Ms. Olabode, has been visiting the EFCC office in Abuja every Wednesday to further assist the commission with its investigation on the matter.
But her major collaborator in the crime, Abdul-Shehu Obaze, a staff at the Commercial Department of the FAAN in Ilorin, Kwara State, and her brother, are still being held by the EFCC
The source added that FAAN management is expected to immediately give a copy of the report to the EFCC in order to continue with their investigations.
It would be recalled that around the month of June, it was discovered that Ms. Olabode of the Account Department had connived with some top management staff in the FAAN to consistently divert furniture allowances meant for staff for over three years.
Investigations revealed that Ms. Olabode also used the names of deceased FAAN staff, retirees, cronies and family members to regularly draw funds from the coffers of the agency. The fraud was detected by the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Department in the FAAN.
In the wake of investigation by the EFCC, the anti-graft agency collected the top management staff’s Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).
Mr. Obaze had allegedly confessed that he had been raising the sum of N2.5 million monthly to one of the top management staff in the agency in the past year from the N70 million.
Some of the directors whose BVNs details were collected included the Director of Administration, Ikechi Uko, Director of Operations, Henry Omeogu, Director of Human Resources, Hajia Salamatu Umar-Eluma, and Director of Maintenance and Engineering, Olufemi Ogunode.
Also invited to Abuja by EFCC was the Head of Audit in the FAAN, one Mr. Njoku.
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