Former Anambra State governor Peter Gregory Obi has raised serious concerns about fraudulent activities within the humanitarian ministry following the suspension of Betta Edu as the minister due to the misappropriation of N585 million designated for palliative distribution.
In the 2023 general election, Obi, the Labour Party candidate, pointed out that the ministry could potentially serve as a channel designed to divert public funds while using the poor as a public face.
Expressing his worries on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Obi highlighted that the persistent corruption cases in the ministry supported the belief that it might have been a conduit for political elites to redirect public funds for personal gain.
Obi emphasized, “The alleged fraudulent diversion of N585 million by Ms Edu coincided sadly with the investigation of the former Minister in the last administration for a whopping N37 billion misappropriation. The Ministry might function as a conduit pipe to siphon public funds while using the poor as a face. Equally concerning is that the missing funds were intended for poverty alleviation during severe suffering. Unfortunately, a ruling elite capable of shamelessly misappropriating such sums meant for the poor cannot be trusted to address the severe poverty afflicting the people.”
Key Points to Note:
Betta Edu faced severe backlash after being implicated in a N585 million disbursement scandal linked to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, drawing criticism from various rights groups and activists. Taking decisive action, the President promptly suspended the 37-year-old on Monday, making her the inaugural member to be ousted from his 48-man cabinet formed in August. Edu assumed her ministerial role about three months after Tinubu was sworn in as President. Still, her tenure was short-lived, lasting barely six months — perhaps the shortest ministerial tenure in a long while.
It’s worth mentioning that Edu’s predecessor, Umar-Farouq, is also under investigation by the EFCC for an alleged laundering of N37.1 billion during her tenure as a minister.
is being investigated for a whopping N37bn misappropriation. The Ministry may have been created by the system as a conduit pipe to siphon public funds while using the poor as a face. Equally worrisome and disgusting is the fact that the missing funds are meant for
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) January 10, 2024
