Ahmed Idris
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has said it cannot sanction the suspended Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, over the alleged N80bn fraud because he is not a member of the institute.
The Institute said this on Monday in a statement while responding to a letter written by the Human & Environmental Development Agenda demanding ICAN investigate and sanction the suspended AGF, who is being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged corruption.
HEDA had called on ICAN to subject Ahmed to the institute’s Disciplinary Tribunal for thorough investigation and sanction.
Responding to the letter, the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of ICAN, Prof Ahmed Kumshe, said the institute could not sanction Ahmed because he is not a member of ICAN.
He 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 organisation and the general public that the former Accountant-General of Federation, 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.”
Three days after his arrest, Idris was suspended by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to enable him to stand trial.
The Federal Government also appointed Anamekwe Nwabuoku to oversee the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The EFCC further uncovered another N90bn alleged fraud involving the suspended Accountant-General.
This made the alleged money laundering involving Idris, a total of N170bn.
However, the EFCC has released Idris on bail pending further investigations.
Source Punch
