Sale Mamman, the recently-retired Minister of Power, has been questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding the alleged diversion of N22 billion.

From August 2019 to September 2021, when President Muhammadu Buhari removed him from his position, Mamman served as the Minister of Power.

Following an invitation, he went to the anti-graft agency’s Abuja headquarters where he was detained.  Mamman surrendered himself to the commission’s Abuja office and was taken into custody early on Wednesday.

According to EFCC sources, the former minister allegedly plotted with Ministry of Power employees while he was serving as a minister to divert N22 billion and divide it among themselves.

The sources claimed: “From 2017 to the present, the former minister engaged in a conspiracy with other ministry employees in charge of the accounts for the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Projects, diverting over N22 billion and sharing it among themselves.

Investigations have helped find and identify properties in Nigeria and abroad as well as recover millions of naira and dollars.

Recall that Mamman and Mohammed Sabo Nanono, the former minister of agriculture and rural development, were fired as a result of the President’s decision to “reinvigorate this cabinet in a manner that will deepen its capacity to consolidate legacy achievements,” according to the Presidency. 

A spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached for comment on the latest development.