You Can’t Misappropriate N297bn from N180bn Revenue, NSITF Official Says

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

A senior official of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) yesterday dismissed a report by an online newspaper claiming that the Agency’s Managing Director, Oluwaseun Faleye, misappropriated N297 billion, describing it as “mathematically and operationally impossible.”

The report had alleged that the NSITF received inflows totaling N297 billion between January and October 2025 and that N243 billion of these funds were spent without board approval. It also claimed that the MD had granted himself “unlimited” spending authority through a secret memo.

Arithmetic Deficit in Allegations

Speaking to THISDAY on condition of anonymity, a top official at the Fund emphasized that the entire agency revenue for 2025 was approximately N180 billion, stressing that the allegation itself defies simple arithmetic.

“You cannot spend more than the total revenue of the agency, yet the report suggests that N243 billion was expended in less than a year. How is that possible?” the source said. “At the end of January 2026, we had roughly N96 billion in our CBN accounts. Staff salaries accounted for about N40 billion, overheads another N40–45 billion, and nearly N30 billion was invested in federal bonds and treasury bills. There is no scenario in which N273 billion could have been spent, let alone ‘misappropriated.’”

Clarifying Approval Limits

The official also addressed the “unlimited approval” claim, labeling it a gross misinterpretation of standard public service rules.

“The idea that any MD can grant themselves ‘unlimited’ limits is a legal fiction,” the source explained. “The MD’s approval limits are strictly governed by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) guidelines. In fact, President Tinubu recently reviewed these thresholds upwards to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks. To suggest a memo overrides the Public Procurement Act is not just false; it is an insult to the intelligence of the public.”