By Shola Abayomi.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita, has been hospitalized after being granted administrative bail, following a four-day interrogation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged N3billion contract scam.
Mrs. Oyo-Ita was also grilled by the EFCC on alleged abuse of duty tour allowance, money laundering and stealing of government funds.
INSIDER learnt that the anti-graft agency has so far, traced about N600million to the account of one of her aides who has failed to justify how the money was acquired.
Other findings revealed that Oyo-Ita secured contracts through proxy companies, from ministries of Special Duties, Power, Works among others. She was also said to have mounted pressure on Permanent Secretaries of various ministries to get her contracts.
A source within the EFCC who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity, said: “Preliminary investigation confirmed that she used different fronts or cronies to obtain contracts from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)
“While tracing embezzlement by the ex-Minister, detectives stumbled on diversion of funds into proxy companies which the Head of Service has relationship with.
“The startling revelations made detectives to dig further into her activities as a Permanent Secretary and Head of Service.
“There were proofs of how she secured contracts through proxy firms from some ministries including Special Duties, Power, Works and others. There was a case of abuse of office because there was evidence of pressure on Permanent Secretaries to get her contracts. She moved from one ministry to the other.
“Investigators also discovered that she was involved in falsification of Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) and estacodes.
“About N600million has been traced to the account of one of her aides. This illicit account has been blocked and the EFCC is in the process of invoking interim forfeiture clause.”