Woman caught impersonating Taraba finance commissioner in ICAN exam

A woman was apprehended while allegedly taking the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) exam on behalf of Sarah Enoch Adi, the Finance Commissioner of Taraba State, raising fresh questions about integrity in the state’s civil service.
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During the exam session, supervisors detained a candidate who identified herself as Leavitt Felix. Records showed that the registered participant for the scheduled exam was Commissioner Sarah Adi, not Felix. Upon questioning, Felix confessed she was sitting the test for the commissioner. Although she denied personally knowing Adi, she claimed a man named Joshua hired her but could not provide further information about him.
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The exam officials expressed skepticism about her inconsistent statements, especially since Felix initially said she worked at the Ministry of Finance, which aligns with Commissioner Adi’s office. Supervisors urged her to disclose more details to avoid police involvement, warning that withholding information could escalate the matter.
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This incident adds to a series of controversies surrounding Commissioner Adi. In August, Taraba civil servants staged a strike demanding the removal of Adi and the state’s Accountant General, alleging irregularities in a biometric verification process that wiped over 7,000 names from the payroll, including senior officials’ listings.
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The biometric exercise, supervised by Adi and led by Permanent Secretary Mallam Haruna Abdulkadir, was conducted in June 2025 to identify “ghost workers,” but it triggered protests over wrongful removals and calls for competent management to restore trust. Authorities are yet to confirm next steps as investigations are still underway.
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