Special Assistant to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, has commended President Bola Tinubu for the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu and said collaborators who “remotely and wickedly benefitted from money that was meant for poor Nigerians” should be fished out.
While commending Tinubu for the development on Monday, he said the suspension of Edu was not enough as there are collaborators in the scandal.
Shaibu’s opinion was contained in a statement he issued on Tuesday amid the plethora of reactions trailing the suspension of the minister over the alleged transfer of N585.2 million into a private account.
OsunDailyNG reported that President Bola Tinubu suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation after a leaked memo showed that she ordered the transfer of N585.2 million into the private bank account of a civil servant, who is the accountant in charge of grants for vulnerable Nigerians.
Dr Edu was a former National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress before she was appointed Minister.
Shaibu, in his statement, said: “Firstly, he had no business appointing her as a minister of such a sensitive ministry in the first place. Tinubu put politics ahead of competence, hence this scandal. What experience did Betta have in the development sector? How was Imaan Ibrahim, with her wealth of experience, overlooked? How did the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, stand as Betta Edu’s referee during her clearance at the Senate?”
He insisted that Betta Edu was not the only one involved in the scandal, urging the President to direct the anti-graft agencies to investigate a company owned by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, that carried out consultancy services to the tune of N438.1 million.
