Tinubu suspends Betta Edu over N585m ‘fraud’

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, from office with immediate effect.

The suspension was announced in a statement on Monday by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

A viral document signed by the Minister  and addressed to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation had revealed that she ordered the payment of the money into one Bridget Mojisola Oniyelu’s private account.

The leaked document showed that the money was paid into Oniyelu’s account.

The minister’s media aide, Rasheed Zubair, had in a statement on Friday said the payment followed due process.

Edu had also, in a statement she posted on her Facebook page on Saturday, said the allegation was baseless.

But the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on Sunday said Tinubu had directed a thorough investigation into the matter, adding that any breaches would be decisively punished.

Tinubu on Monday said the suspension was in line with his avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians.

The statement read: “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 hereby directed to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and she is further 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.

“These directives of the President take immediate effect.”