For many hours on Thursday, the immediate past Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mrs. Nkechi Ejele, was questioned by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged missing N500 million funds to her ministry from the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) while she was still in office.
Mrs. Ejele was among the 17 Permanent Secretaries fired by President Muhammadu Buhari some days ago.
Summoned to the Abuja office of the EFCC, Ejele, who arrived at the office in the morning, faced questioning till Thursday evening, but sources say she would be granted administrative bail afterwards.
She could also be charged if indicted in the findings of the anti-graft agency.
President Buhari recently scrapped the SURE-P and government sources say his action was as a result of the alleged corruption in the scheme.
The SURE-P fund was distributed to agencies of government to help cushion the effect of the partial removal of oil subsidy by the government in 2011.
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But it has been difficult tracing how the various funds were utilised.
