EFCC Moves In, To Begin Investigation Of Edu, Accomplices
How Company Founded By Interior Minister Got N438m As Consultancy fee From Edu
Outrage Continues As CSOs Call For Her Accomplices To Be Fished Out, Interior Minister On The Line

In what will go down as one of the shortest stint as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, embattled Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu was suspended by President Bola Tinubu from his 48-man cabinet on Monday as the outrage surrounding a messy N585m disbursement scandal reverberates.

READ ALSO: https://matrixngr.com/2024/01/07/edu-serap-asks-tinubu-to-probe-botched-payment-of-n585m-grant-to-private-account/

The Matrix reports that in a statement on Monday afternoon, presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said his principal ordered the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, “to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions” involving the ministry and “one or more agencies thereunder”.

Edu had stirred controversy when she approved that the sum of N585,198,500.00 be disbursed into a personal account.

In a letter allegedly signed by the humanitarian minister, she instructed the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer the sum to the account of one Oniyelu Bridget as grants for vulnerable groups in four states.

READ ALSO: https://matrixngr.com/2024/01/06/nsipa-defends-betta-edu/

Madein confirmed that although her office received a request from the humanitarian ministry to make certain payments, her office did not act on it.

This development stirred outrage from Civil Society Organisations like Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), and Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) to name a few. On Sunday, the Federal Government acknowledged the outrage and said the President had ordered a thorough probe of Edu’s ministry.

On Monday, the President caved in to pressure and suspended Edu not without directing the EFCC Chairman “to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder”.

The President also directed the suspended minister to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the ministry and “fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as they conduct their investigation”.

READ ALSO: https://matrixngr.com/2024/01/06/tinubus-minister-betta-edu-admits-transfering-n585m-into-private-account/

“Furthermore, the President has tasked a panel that is headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes with a view to conclusively reforming the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.”

In a case of when it rains, it pours, the scandal surrounding the Betta-Edu led ministry continues to unravel with another Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior,  currently in the line of fire after reports emerged that a company founded by him and his wife had gotten N438 million as "consultancy fees" from tEdu.

But Olubunmi has denied being a signatory to the firm while clarifying that he resigned from the firm in 2019 and he is no longer a signatory to the said firm.

READ ALSO: https://matrixngr.com/2023/12/20/fg-announces-50-reduction-in-public-transport-fare/

“I am not a signatory to the company,” he said on Monday during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“As I’ve always said, I came into public office with a commitment to base my service on sincerity of purpose and openness. I believe that Nigerians don’t deserve to be kept in the dark in terms of public office operations.”

He added: “And actually, I was shocked because the company in question was a company where I was a director. About five years ago, I had resigned from my directorship”.

While admitting to founding the company alongside his wife, the minister said his resignation from the firm was owing to his political ambition.

“I and my wife founded the company 15 years ago. Well, in 2019, when I got to the House of Representatives, when I won election precisely, I made a change,” he said.

“I had resigned as director of the company to hold office.”

The minister said he is only a shareholder of the company which is not in violation of the law.

“Of course, and to the best of my knowledge, the public service rule does not prohibit public officers from being shareholders,” Olubunmi said.

Meanwhile, CISLAC has asked the Federal Government and anti-graft agencies to fish out the alleged accomplices of Edu and her predecessor.

READ ALSO: https://matrixngr.com/2023/11/05/fg-to-subsidise-adire-production-to-boost-local-economy-betta-edu/
“The fraud allegedly perpetrated by both the previous minister, Sadiya, and the current one, definitely, they worked with some people, where are those people? If we want to get to the root of this, we must get them investigated,” said CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Rafsanjani on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

Rafsanjani had said it was pathetic that a ministry that should be sympathetic to the citizens was caught in the web of alleged funds diversions.

He had called on the President to carry out sweeping reforms within ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), stressing that diversions of funds weren’t restricted to the humanitarian ministry.


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