President Bola Tinubu has ordered an immediate investigation into allegations of corruption against the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu.
In a statement released on Sunday, information minister Mohammed Idris said the president directed the relevant government agencies to investigate all the claims.
The president promised that adequate sanctions would be taken against any serving or past official indicted.
He, however, urged all Nigerians to desist from fake news and spreading unverified Information about the issue.
N585.2 million in Private Account
Betta Edu is accused of corruptly approving the transfer of N585.2 million of public funds into a private bank account.
A 20 December 2023 memo shows that she requested the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer the money into the account of an official in her ministry, in contravention of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009.
The was transferred from the National Social Investment office account and was to be disbursed to vulnerable persons in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states.
Other Corruption Allegations
Lately, Edu has been accused of approving funds for flight tickets to Kogi State which does not have an airport.
Media reports say N72,374,500 was moved to Kogi State on 6 November 2023 after the minister signed a memo titled “The Disbursement Under the 2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups Programmes in Kogi State, 2023.”
A breakdown of the payment showed the money was budgeted for tickets, airport taxis, and travel allowances for the minister’s advance and main teams, five days before the governorship election in Kogi State.
Other monies were budgeted for a similar program in Bayelsa and Imo States on the same day (6 November 2023), five days before the governorship elections in the states.
In total, Sahara Reporters says it has seen documents showing that Edu approved N226,188,500 for the three states.
