President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has this afternoon suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, from office with immediate effect. The suspension was announced in a statement this afternoon by the president special Adviser on Media and publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale. The president revealed that her suspension was in line with his declared commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians throughout his tenure of office.
Although there has been call from opinion moulders and civil society groups like SERAP calling on the president to save his government by letting the minister to go and have the confidence of Nigerians.
Ajuri Angilale in the statement reads, “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 there under.
The statement added, “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.”
