The minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Wednesday that no money was missing from the Police Pension Fund.

This is contained in a statement issued by her special adviser on Media, Paul Nwabuikwu.

The minister said reports that N24 billion was missing from the fund were false and that the amount which was discovered to be an over-estimation of pensions arrears, has been returned to government coffers, in accordance with standard practice.

“Contrary to media reports, the sum of N24 billion is not missing from the Police Pension Fund,” the statement stated.

It stated that Okonjo-Iweala had told the Senate Joint Committee on Pensions Administration at a public hearing that she ordered the account frozen to prevent fraud based on reports of suspicious transactions.

“Of the amount in the account, N24 billion was discovered to be an over-estimation of pensions arrears. The money was subsequently returned to government coffers as is the standard practice,” the minister said.