The President, Bola Tinubu on Monday suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Betta Edu, following widespread anger over an alleged N585 million scandal.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists.
“In line with his avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu suspends the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr.
Betta Edu, from office with immediate effect,” the statement read.
It was reported that on Sunday, Tinubu directed a comprehensive inquiry into the alleged N585m scandal in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
He had also vowed to “decisively punish” those involved in any breaches and infractions unravelled during the investigations.
Several groups and individuals including the Peoples Democratic Party, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Femi Falana, SAN; the Yoruba Youth Assembly and other civil society groups demanded an unfettered probe of the leaked memo by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, instructing the Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr Oluwatoyin Madein, to pay N585m into the private bank account of a project accountant in her ministry, Bridget Oniyelu.
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The minister had claimed that the N585m payment was meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states, describing the allegations against her as baseless.
The Media Assistant to the Minister, Rasheed Olarenwaju, said in a statement that it was legal within the civil service for such payments to be made into private accounts of staff members, especially project accountants.
The Media Assistant to the Minister, Rasheed Olarenwaju should immediately be sacked for putting forth a statement that government funds can be paid into a private account. He should tell the Police recent examples that he is aware of. Some more people from the Buhari regime may need to be arrested.The project accountant in the ministry, Bridget Oniyelu should have all her bank accounts subject to scrutiny and analysis by the Police and EFCC to see if there have been historical frauds in the department.
While the investigation is ongoing the states whose funds were to be stolen should ensure their moneys come to them in a timely fashion. And not held up by this investigation which would be protracted, never ending and with no one brought before the court eventually.