The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begun investigations into the allegations of fraud leveled against the management of the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND).

Some workers and tenants in the housing estate belonging to the fund, and  being managed by a private estate firm,  had petitioned the EFCC.

Consequent upon the petition, the EFCC had invited key officials of NERFUND for questioning.

The Managing Director of NERFUND, Baba Gimba, however, dismissed the allegations , pointing out that NERFUND had been in comatose for almost ten years, and that it was the present management that had worked assiduously towards resuscitating the agency.

In one of the petitions, it was alleged that  NERFUND had mismanaged the reconstruction scheme by deliberately allocating funds to cronies and phony businesses.

They also  alleged  that the management had been operating without a board for over ten years, contrary to the extant rules, believing that the operations of NERFUND, without a board, was only to serve the interest of a clique.

Besides, some of the tenants in the estate averred that rents were being diverted into personal pockets. They urged the commission to beam its searchlight on the proceeds from rents  collected from them over the years.

Sources revealed that the existence of the estate, acquired from the defunct All State Trust Bank, was not known to some of the members of the management until disagreement arose between the tenants and the private firm estate managers.

Aggrieved tenants told  Sunday Tribune that there were plans to sell off the estate at a  ridiculous  price, with some property developers coming for inspection, preparatory to eventual disposal
Baba Gimba defended the management, saying it was not into the business of estate management, and that it was  by circumstance that it was in possession of an estate, which had been given out to people. “That informed the plan to sell it,” he said.

He explained further that the management had the mandate of the supervising Ministry of Finance to evaluate the housing estate and that it was the Ministry of Works that assessed the buildings and advised his management on the cost if it was to be disposed of .

The interventionist organisation, according to him ran into trouble some years ago when it could not recover substantial funds given out to help small businesses in fulfilment of the organisation’s core mandate.

Explaining that there was nothing like fraud, Gimba said NERFUND had disbursed N3.5 billion as loans to 266 out of the 570 that were approved, representing about 45 percent of the approved projects.

EFCC Spokesman, Femi Babafemi,  confirmed that  investigation, assuring that the preliminary report of the investigation would soon be out.