DSS arrests NIRSAL MD, Umar Masanawa
The Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Abbas Umar Masanawa, has been arrested by Department of State Services (DSS) as Godwin Emefiele’s saga continues.
The reason for his arrest yet unknown but there are speculations that it is in connection with the ongoing investigation of the embattled former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, according to News Point Nigeria.
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Recall last year, the former MD of the financial institution, Aliyu Abdulhameed, was accused of gross financial misconduct for allegedly mismanaging over N5 billion of the funds set aside for farmers in Kano and Jigawa states but was shown the way out by former President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Masanawa who was the MD of the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) popularly known as ‘The MINT’ had interest in contesting for the governorship of Katsina State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but did not get the ticket.
Masanawa, a close ally of Emefiele was the Executive Director in charge of finance and strategy of NIRSAL before he was recommended to head the company by the suspended apex bank governor.
He was picked up in his Abuja residence after he was fingered in the investigation of Emefiele and the one ongoing at the headquarters of the apex bank, the platform quoting a source close to the DSS.
The spokesman of DSS, Peter Afunanya, was yet to reply to a text message sent to him for official confirmation and further details as at when filing this report.