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How Nigerian Government Paid ₦100million Into Personal Account Of OAGF Staff For Ex-Minister Ogbonnaya Onu's Burial
How Nigerian Government Paid ₦100million Into Personal Account Of OAGF Staff For Ex-Minister Ogbonnaya Onu's Burial
POLITICS
The Nigerian Record
7/26/20263 min read
The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government paid ₦100million into the personal bank account of an official in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) to cover expenses for the burial of former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, payment records seen by SaharaReporters have revealed.
The payment, captured on public payments portal, GovSpend platform, shows that the funds were transferred to the personal account of Nongo Senen, an official in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
According to the GovSpend record, the transaction was processed on December 11, 2024, by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Headquarters.
The payment record states that ₦100,000,000 was transferred to Nongo Senen with the narration: "Being payment to the project accountant in respect of financial support by the FG to cover the expenses of the burial of the late Ogbonnaya Onu, former Minister of Science and Technology."
According to details published on GovSpend, the money was paid into the personal account of the official.
Official documents seen by SaharaReporters show that Nongo Senen was promoted to the position of Chief Accountant in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in a circular published in July 2023.
The payment has drawn attention because it was made into the personal account of a government official rather than directly to a designated government account, burial committee account or service providers, as reflected in the GovSpend records.
The transaction is one of the Federal Government's publicly available expenditure records and comes amid sustained public calls by transparency advocates for stricter accountability in the management and disbursement of public funds.
Dr Onu, a former governor of Abia State and one of Nigeria's prominent political figures, died in April 2024 at the age of 72.
In April 2024, SaharaReporters reported that the former Abia State governor died at an Abuja hospital after battling an illness.
One of his kinsmen in Ebonyi, who confirmed the development to SaharaReporters at the time, said the former minister had been ill for some time and that his family had planned to fly him abroad for further medical treatment after the Sallah break.
"He has been sick for some time this year and his family said they would fly him abroad to get better medical treatment for him but he could not make it till then," the source said.
Onu, who hailed from Ebonyi State, was Nigeria's first civilian governor of Abia State following the state's creation. He later served as Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation from November 2015 until his resignation in 2022 to contest the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Several months after his death, political leaders, government officials and other dignitaries converged on Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State in November 2024 to pay their last respects as the former minister was laid to rest.
President Bola Tinubu, who attended the burial, described Onu as "a true progressive" and "a quintessential politician who believed in the ideals of the progressive movement as a way to developing Nigeria."
However, official expenditure records reviewed by SaharaReporters show that shortly after the burial, the Federal Government released ₦100 million as financial support for the funeral, with the money paid into the account of the official identified as a project accountant.
The payment has renewed scrutiny of how public funds are disbursed for official purposes, particularly where government expenditure is routed through the personal account of a public official, even when the payment description identifies the recipient as the project accountant responsible for administering the funds.
The disclosure is also likely to fuel ongoing debate over public financial management and accountability, with transparency advocates continuing to call for greater openness and stronger safeguards in the handling of government expenditure.