By Ken Afor
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has been suspended from office with immediate effect by President Bola Tinubu.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, on Monday afternoon.
Edu’s suspension came after the President on Sunday ordered a thorough probe of the ministry following her alleged involvement in the approval of N585,198,500.00, paid into a personal account.
It would be recalled that the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, received a letter purportedly signed by Edu, instructing her to transfer a certain sum to the account of Oniyelu Bridget as grants for vulnerable groups in four states.
However, Madein clarified that her office did not honour the request, despite receiving it from the humanitarian affairs ministry.
According to Madein, Edu’s request to transfer the fund to a private account violates financial protocols.
Meanwhile, Edu reacting to the widespread allegations regarding this issue, described it is as groundless fabrication orchestrated by her adversaries.
She contends that these critics were seeking to obstruct her anti-corruption initiatives and thwart her mission to uplift those in need.
Weighing into the matter, the President had directed the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede “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”.
Furthermore, the President, according to Ngelali, “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.”
