NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein as Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) on Friday, May 19.
Madein, the first female to be appointed to that position in the country, was the Director of Finance and Accounts at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation until her appointment.
Born in Iperu Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun State on March 7, 1965, Madein acquired a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accountancy at Ogun State Polytechnic, now known as Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, in 1988.
She has acquired several other degrees since then, and in 2020, Madein completed her doctoral degree in Management Finance from Walden University, Minnesota, United States.
The AGF a Fellow of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (ACCA), member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria.
She began her career, which has spanned over three decades, as a middle-level officer at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
She has served in different ministries, including Police Affairs, Commerce and Industry, Works and Housing, Youth and Sports Development, among others.
She also worked as an Executive Officer (Accounts) in the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC), Abeokuta, Ogun State.
A statement from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation said Madein’s appointment took effect from Thursday, May 18, exactly one year after the ex-AGF, Ahmed Idris, was suspended.
“The President, Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the appointment of Dr (Mrs) Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein as the substantive Accountant-General of the Federation following the successful conduct of a selection process to fill the existing vacancy.
“The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yeti-Esan CFR, made this known today, Friday, 19 May, 2023, in Abuja, adding that the appointment is with effect from Thursday, May 18, 2023. The new appointee is to resume immediately,” the statement read.
Madein is replacing Ahmed Idris, suspended in 2022 for his alleged involvement in an N80 billion fraud case.
Idris was arrested by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on May 16, 2022, after he failed to honour invitations extended to him over the allegations.
According to the EFCC, Idris misappropriated the funds through consultancies and other illegal activities using proxies, family members and close associates.
The Commission also said Idris laundered the funds through real estate investments in Kano and Abuja.
Following his arrest, the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed in a letter to Idris, announced his suspension to enable proper investigation into the fraud allegation.
“Following your recent arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations of diversion of funds and money laundering, I write to convey your suspension from work without pay effective 18th May 2022.
“During this period, you are not expected to attend to your place of work or contact any official in your office except for any disciplinary hearing that may be advised,” the minister noted in the letter.
Before Idris’ arrest, The ICIR reported in 2019 that he was a significant player in the trail of fraudulent practices at the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) under the watch of Marilyn Amobi.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.