A former former lawmaker representing Amuwo Odofin 1 Constituency at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mojisola Kehinde Alli-Macaulay who branded COVID-19 palliative as birthday souvenirs in 2020 has been appointed as the Executive Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).
The former newscaster was among the new set of appointments announced by Ajuri Ngelale, a spokesman to President Bola Tinubu on July 13, 2024.
In the peak of the d3adly COVID-19 in 2020, the government rolled out several packages to support families whose livelihoods were affected by the pandemic.
Among the packages were bags of rice, noodles, cooking oil, and money among others as relief materials.
But instead of distributing the palliative to the needy, some state governors and lawmakers hoarded the materials, leading to a nationwide looting of stores where the materials were kept.
Mojisola Alli-Macaulay, a lawmaker at the Assembly at the time repackaged her constituency share of the relief materials and distributed it to mark her 43rd birthday. Her actions received backlash among her constituents and Nigerians in general.
Alli-Macaulay, born on October 10, 1977, represented Amuwo Odofin 1 Constituency between 2019 to 2023. She headed the Lagos House of Assembly Committee on Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Job Creation.
She was one the most influential grassroot supporters for Tinubu’s presidency during the 2023 general elections and remained a voice in the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in Lagos.
NGO petition against her swept under the carpet
In a letter dated October 31, 2020, and addressed to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), BudgIT Foundation and Connected Development (CODE), called for the investigation and prosecution of the Mrs Alli-Macaulay for abuse of her office and diversion of relief materials for COVID-19 for personal use.
Part of the petition read:
“A case in point is the allegation against Honourable Mojisola Alli-Macaulay. On October 28, 2020, a social media report showed that she allegedly diverted CACOVID relief items for personal use, as part of her birthday souvenirs. We find these allegations of corruption to be a gross violation of Nigerian laws which is tantamount to using public office to appropriate support of vulnerable Nigerians for personal gain.”
BudgIT and CODE are two NGOs in Nigeria leading the advocacy for fiscal transparency and accountability in public finance.
But nearly four years after the petition was submitted to one of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies, nothing was heard about the case until the former lawmaker got a new appointment under Tinubu’s government as Executive Director of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.
Her agency will be in charge of planning welfare for Nigerian workers who encounter work-related accidents and injuries while serving the country. NSITF ensures that employers comply with employee compensation in the event of injuries.
The ICPC, who received the petition in 2020 was yet to react at the time of publication.