President Bola Tinubu has suspended the humanitarian minister, Betta Edu, after revelations of multiple financial breaches in the ministry.
Ms Edu, a former Cross River health commissioner, authorized the payment of over half a billion naira of government money into a private account. The funds were meant to be distributed as social benefits to poor citizens in several states, according to records seen by Pluboard.
The minister also approved air travel payments to more than a dozen staff to travel to Kogi state, the north-central state which lies next to Abuja and has no airport.
The humanitarian ministry defended the payment of N535 million to an individual claiming the transaction followed “due process.” The accountant-general of the federation, to whom the minister’s approval for payment was directed to, said she did not oblige as the directive violated government financial regulations.
On Sunday, the Tinubu administration through the information minister said the government was reviewing the allegations.
Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale announced Ms Edu’s suspension Monday afternoon.
“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,” Mr Ngelale said in a statement.
“The President further directs the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 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 suspended minister is to hand over to the permanent secretary of the ministry of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, and was directed “by the President to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as they conduct their investigation.”
“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,” the statement said.
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