President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, over her alleged directive for the transfer of N585 million to a private account.
The suspension was announced on Monday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale.
The president’s action was said to be 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 suspension was said to be with immediate effect.
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The suspended minister, according to the media aide, was directed to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
She was also directed by the president to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities in their investigation.
Ngelale added that the president directed the 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.
Furthermore, the president was said to have 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.
