Tinubu suspends minister over N585m fraud, orders EFCC probe

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

Tinubu had, on Sunday night, directed “a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the payment of N585 million into a private account by the ministry.

This followed a memo that revealed that Edu asked Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, to pay N585 million to a private account belonging to one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.

However, presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, who announced the minister’s suspension in a statement on Monday, January 8, 2024, said the president has directed 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 Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder”.

READ ALSO: Tinubu probes N585m paid into private account by minister

President Tinubu also directed the suspended minister to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the ministry and “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,” Ngelale added.

The Star