President Muhammadu Buhari has removed Aliyu Abdulhameed from office. The NIRSAL chief has been dogged by corruption allegations for several months. 

The president ousted Mr Abdulhameed on Thursday afternoon, and he was escorted out of office shortly thereafter, according to NIRSAL insiders familiar with the development. 

“His exotic official vehicles were all withdrawn from him,” an insider said. “He left the office in a small Ford vehicle and was grandstanding that he would soon be back.”

Corruption allegations, chiefly mismanagement of agric loans, led to his removal, Peoples Gazette heard. A scramble for his replacement has begun. 

Mr Abdulhameed’s corrupt practices forced the Central Bank of Nigeria to suspend funding for NIRSAL last year, The Gazette reported. The CBN has been guaranteeing all borrowings disbursed by NIRSAL, which is a parastatal of the government’s banker. 

Another claim said Mr Abdulhameed also cornered funds earmarked for wheat distributions across the country. It was also alleged he brutally tortured some employees and hired police officers to harass and intimidate his critics into silence.

Mr Abdulhameed has been recommended for prosecution following his removal from office, The Gazette heard, but he has not yet been arrested by anti-graft officers.

Mr Abdulhameed, who has long denied any wrongdoings, and a spokeswoman for NIRSAL did not immediately return requests seeking comments on Friday morning.