The suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Betta Edu, may not return to office, investigations by Saturday PUNCH revealed on Friday.
The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this in a statement that the action of the President was in line with his avowed commitment to uphold what he described as the highest standards of integrity and accountability.
“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,” Ngelale said in the statement.
Presidential sources told one of our correspondents that it would be difficult for the embattled minister to return to office, adding that the alleged scandal in the ministry was more than what “is before the public.”
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to comment on the matter said, “What we have in that ministry is more than what we have seen. I can tell you that Edu may not return to the ministry of even return as a minister.
“She may not be the only one involved. But as it stands now, she should forget the idea or dream of her returning to the Federal Executive Council. In fact, she is gone.”
President Bola Tinubu had on Sunday directed a comprehensive inquiry into the multi-million naira N585m scandal in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
EFCC investigators had held sessions with the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, ex-minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq, and Halima Shehu, the suspended National Coordinator and CEO of the National Social Investment Programme, an agency under the humanitarian ministry.
While Edu is being investigated for authorising the transfer of N585m into the private account of an accountant in the ministry, Bridget Oniyelu, Umar-Farouq, who served as a minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari, was under the searchlight over alleged N37.1bn money laundering.
Shehu on the other hand was being questioned for allegedly moving N44bn NSIP funds into some private and corporate accounts without presidential approval.
The investigation into the sleaze in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation has deepened on as EFCC investigators have continued quizzing several top civil servants linked to the scandals.
This was as Saturday PUNCH learnt that the ICPC recovered over N50bn from the humanitarian affairs ministry in 2023.
The money, which was about to be embezzled was recovered by the ICPC between July and August 2023 and was later paid into the Central Bank of Nigeria by the commission.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the fund which was meant for vulnerable citizens during the tenure of former Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq was blocked during attempts to transfer it into private bank accounts and recovered by the ICPC under its former Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Friday announced that President Bola Tinubu had suspended all administered programmes by the National Social Investment Programme Agency.
All four programmes administered by NSIPA, viz; N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme have been suspended for a period of six weeks in the first instance.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the move followed recommendations made to the President by the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, over monumental fraud running into over N81.6bn, which was uncovered in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
Announcing the suspension of NSIPA in a statement on Friday, the Director Information, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, said the president’s decision was in view of the “ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes,”
According to the statement, Tinubu also constituted a ministerial panel to conduct a thorough review of the agency’s operations to recommend necessary reforms of the NSIPA.
The statement added, “All four Programmes administered by NSIPA, viz; N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme (the “Programs”) have been suspended for a period of six weeks in the first instance.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also raised significant concerns regarding operational lapses and improprieties surrounding payments to the Programs’ beneficiaries.
“During the period of this suspension, all NSIPA-related activities, including but not limited to all distributions, events, payments, collaborations and registrations are now frozen.”
Tinubu also assured Nigerians, including stakeholders, that his administration remained committed to a swift and unbiased process that would ensure that social intervention programmes would work as intended to the benefit of the most vulnerable Nigerians.
Meanwhile, a senior government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, informed our correspondent that the action of the President over NSIPA was part of the recommendations in the report on the social investment programme submitted by the ICPC to the President last year following the return of over N50bn recovered from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the Federal Government.
An impeccable government source told our correspondent that the N50bn was subsequently handed over to the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government.
Confirming the development, the source stated, “The funds were recovered when former President Muhammadu Buhari and Umar-Farouq were leaving office and President Tinubu had yet to appoint a new humanitarian affairs minister.
“President Tinubu, upon the appointment of the now suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, ordered the Accountant-General of the Federation to refund the money to the ministry as part of the Infrastructure Support Fund for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.’’
“The refunded sum is part of the N44bn allegedly laundered in the National Social Investment Programme Agency and the N585m Edu authorised for disbursement.’’
Throwing more light on the interception and recovery of the fund, another source explained, “During the naira scarcity between late 2022 and 2023, the ICPC under Prof Owasanoye blocked and recovered the sum of N50bn from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The first sum that was blocked and recovered was N32bn, but when the commission probed further, another N18bn was blocked and recovered from the ministry. The ICPC discovered that the money was meant for the vulnerable and the poor people in the country which the ministry under the former minister, Umar-Farouq, could not distribute due to the scarcity of currency during the naira redesign period.
“The money was paid into the coffers of the government between July and August 2023. Some officials in the ministry attempted to disburse the funds into private accounts during the time the former minister was no longer active in office and there was no new minister last year. The ICPC immediately blocked the money after discovering the suspicious and fraudulent manner in which it was to be distributed, and it was recovered.
“After President Tinubu announced the Infrastructure Support Fund for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal, the Federal Government paid the money into the coffers of the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry under Betta Edu, being the ministry in charge poverty alleviation projects.”
In continuation of their probe, EFCC detectives have continued to question many senior civil servants in the humanitarian affairs ministry, even as of Friday.
Source | Punchng
