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After days of sizzling outrage against the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, over a messy disbursement scandal, President Bola Tinubu announced the first suspension of a member of his 48-man cabinet on Monday, removing the 37-year-old from office with immediate effect.
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”.
Controversy had enveloped Edu’s alleged involvement in the approval of N585,198,500.00 to 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.
Calls by rights activists and many Nigerians for Edu’s suspension have been intense in the last few days.
Human rights activist, Femi Falana, had called for Edu’s resignation.
The senior advocate had cautioned her to stop insulting Nigerians, adding that she failed to deny that she approved the funds to be paid to a private account instead of direct transfer to the beneficiaries’ accounts from the ministry’s.
“It is interesting to note that the minister has not denied that she approved the payment of the over half a billion Naira to a private account in contravention of the extant Public Service Rules as well as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Act and the Penal Code applicable in the Federal Capital Territory,” Falana had said.
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