By Ken Afor
The suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, has found herself in a more complex situation following a fresh alleged fraud of N17 billion reportedly linked to the ministry.
According to the Tribune, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigating the alleged N585 million fraud claim that the newly discovered N17 billion looted fund is linked to the ministry.
While the operatives are yet to disclose during whose tenure the fraud was carried out, the report stated that the investigators have interrogated the suspended minister on the new findings.
“The commission was surprised to uncover some previously unreported cases of fraud linked to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. The amount for now stands at N17billion. You will recall that what was reportedly linked to the suspended minister was N585 million, now the figure has risen and the investigators are closing in on the matter,” the outlet quoting a source familiar to the matter.
While all eyes are on Edu, operatives of the anti-graft agency are still focused on the case involving Hajia Sadiya Umar-Farouk, the minister in charge of the Humanitarian Affairs ministry during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the suspended Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Hajia Halima Shehu.
It is pertinent to note that investigators have been able to recover N30 billion of the N37 billion traced to Hajia Umar-Farouk with the cooperation of Hajia Shehu.
Shehu was said to have informed the investigators that she took some actions to prevent the funds from being looted by certain forces.
It would be recalled that the investigation into the Humanitarian Ministry commenced in January, which led to the suspension of Edu.
The monumental fraud in the ministry came into the limelight following a letter purportedly signed by Edu, requesting the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) to transfer the sum of N585.2 million as grants for vulnerable groups in four states to the account of a project officer in the ministry, Oniyelu Bridget.
The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein, clarified that her office did not honor the request, citing a violation of financial protocols.
The AGF emphasized that Edu’s request to transfer funds to a private account goes against established financial procedures.
In response to the widespread allegations, Edu denied the accusations, describing them as groundless fabrications orchestrated by her adversaries.
