Vital Questions Arise As ICAN Claims That Embattled AGF Ahmed Idris Was Never Their Member Following His N80 Billion Fraud
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has responded to a request for it to investigate and sanction Ahmed Idris, the suspended Accountant General of the Federation, over his alleged involvement in an N80bn fraud.
In a statement released on June 6, 2022, the Institute claims that it cannot suspend the embattled AGF because he is not a member of the body. This was in response to the letter sent by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) recently.
Ahmed is currently facing an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) probe, and HEDA demanded that ICAN hand over Ahmed to its Disciplinary Tribunal for a thorough investigation and proper sanctions.
However, in a rather funny twist, ICAN’s Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Prof Ahmed Kumshe, has disclosed that the AGF is not a member of ICAN, so they cannot sanction him.
Prof. Ahmed said: “The attention of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has been drawn to some publications in the media where a group known as Human & Environmental Development Agenda is asking ICAN to investigate and sanction the erstwhile Accountant-General of the Federation being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for corruption.
We wish to inform the organization and the general public that the former Accountant-General, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, is not a member of ICAN and therefore cannot be investigated and sanctioned by ICAN.
Our act only allows us to regulate and discipline our members when they err at our Investigating Panel or Disciplinary Tribunal as the case may be.”
The Federal Government had since announced that the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation would be temporarily overseen by Anamekwe Nwabuoku, as Ahmed was also suspended by Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, pending the conclusion of the EFCC investigations.
One funny question about this development that we’re pinning to ask is this: How does one become eligible to be considered for the nation’s Accountant-General of the Federation if they are not a member of ICAN?
The country’s AGF is responsible for managing all the payments and receipts of the country as the administrative head of its treasury.
If Ahmed was ever given this extremely sensitive portfolio without indeed being a member of ICAN, then it is beginning to look like an incompetent rogue was deliberately placed in charge of this nation’s account to siphon and divert public funds.
This nation has been bled dry, and they keep digging for more blood! May God deliver Nigeria from rogues and terrible leaders; Amen!
