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Humanitarian ministry scandals: EFCC seizes Edu, former minister’s passports
The passports of Betta Edu, the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and Sadiya Umar-Farouq, her predecessor, have been seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission due to ongoing investigations into scandals within the ministry.
Edu was still being questioned by the commission's investigators at the time this report was filed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, after arriving at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja at 10 a.m.
On Tuesday, the managing directors of three commercial banks were also questioned by the EFCC regarding the N44 billion fraud that was discovered within the ministry, according to information obtained during the minister's suspension.
The Edu scandal broke when a leaked memo showed that the suspended minister had instructed Oluwatoyin Madein, the Accountant-General of the Federation, to transfer N585 million to a private account held by Oniyelu Bridget. The ministry claimed that Bridget is currently employed as the Project Accountant for Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
The minister had stated that the accusations against her were unfounded and that the N585 million payment was intended for vulnerable groups in the states of Lagos, Ogun, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom.
In a statement, the minister's media assistant, Rasheed Olarewaju, stated that it was permissible for civil servants to make payments into employees' personal accounts, particularly those of project accountants.
The President suspended Edu on Monday in response to public pressure and gave her instructions to turn over to the ministry's permanent secretary.
Edu accepted the invitation from the EFCC on Tuesday, and the investigators questioned her for a long time.
It was discovered that detectives had confiscated both her official and personal passports, preventing her from leaving the nation.
Seized passports
Investigators questioned Umar-Farouq, her predecessor, for twelve hours on Monday in relation to the investigation into the N37.1 billion that was purportedly laundered during her term in office through a contractor named James Okwete.
As part of her bail requirements, the former minister's passport was also confiscated; however, late on Monday night, she was freed.
The former minister's and Edu's passports were confiscated, according to a reliable source within the EFCC, to prevent them from leaving the nation while the investigation is ongoing.
"Sadiya Shehu and Betta Edu, the two ministers, have had their passports confiscated by the commission. In addition, we have detained Mrs. Halima Shehu's passport until the investigation is finished. The source stated, "The commission does not want to take the chance of having any of them leave the country while they still have questions to answer.
Since he did not answer calls, Dipo Okpeseyi, SAN, the former minister's attorney, could not be reached for comment on his client's experience. He also didn't reply to a message that asked for his opinion. Attempts to obtain Edu also failed.
Whether she was freed on Tuesday night was not immediately confirmed by The PUNCH.
In addition to Edu, the CEO and National Coordinator of the humanitarian ministry's National Social Investment Programme, Ms. Halima Shehu, had also been placed on indefinite leave due to allegations of financial misappropriation.
The EFCC had detained and interrogated Shehu in relation to the transfer of N44 billion from the NSIPA account to a number of dubious private and corporate accounts during the final four days of December 2023.
The enormous amount was allegedly transferred without the president's consent.
Shehu has been helping investigators by reporting to the EFCC office every day as required by her bail terms.
Shehu served as the Conditional Cash Transfer Program's National Coordinator under former President Muhammadu Buhari prior to being appointed.
Senior bank executives' investigation was confirmed by top EFCC sources to our correspondent on Tuesday.
According to a reliable source with the EFCC, the banks had a significant role in the fraud that was being looked into.
"Our interrogators at the EFCC headquarters on Tuesday grilled the MDs of the banks," the source disclosed. They were questioned in relation to the N44 billion fraud that was discovered and the N585 million that involved Betta Edu and Halima Shehu.
"The investigation is still ongoing, and both the suspended minister and the coordinator have provided new revelations during their interrogations."
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party's 2023 presidential candidate, expressed his thoughts on the scandals that were developing and charged the All Progressives Congress of using the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and poverty alleviation as a cash cow for succeeding administrations.
Atiku stated that while the minister Edu's suspension was praiseworthy, it was insufficient.
Atiku expressed regret that a programme intended to help over 100 million Nigerians escape extreme poverty had allegedly turned into a money-making venture for successive APC governments in a statement released on Tuesday by his Special Assistant for Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
"While we applaud Tinubu for suspending Edu, we think this was a belated move," he stated. First of all, he had no business having her appointed to a position as sensitive as a minister in the first place. This scandal resulted from Tinubu prioritising politics over ability.
What background did Betta have in the field of development? How could Imaan Ibrahim, with her extensive background, go unnoticed? How did Femi Gbajabiamila, the President's Chief of Staff, act as Betta Edu's referee when she was being cleared by the Senate?
Atiku, who demanded changes be made to the Ministry, claimed that other people were also involved in the transactions besides Edu.
"Betta Edu shouldn't be made to feel guilty. It's important to find, look into, and prosecute anyone else who has unjustly and remotely benefited from funds intended for impoverished Nigerians. Stealing in the name of the poor is demonic and tendentiously wicked, he declared.
A portion of the statement said, "The government must restructure the ministry of humanitarian affairs and other interventionist initiatives that have evolved into a cash register and point of sale for the powerful."
He stated that urgent action to reform the ministry is required, as evidenced by the fact that Sadiya Umar Farouq, the former minister of humanitarian affairs, was also under investigation for N37 billion in fraud.
"Umar-Farouq carried on with the school feeding programme even during the COVID-19 lockdown. She made the absurd claim that since schools were closed, the food would be brought to the students' homes.
According to Betta Edu today, during the Yuletide, more than three million households received N20,000 apiece. Unfortunately, no proof of millions of Nigerians receiving such funds has been found. This demonstrates that money has only been flowing into individual wallets.
"The scandal we are dealing with has nothing to do with Betta Edu, Halima Shehu, or any other rogue element. It is about a systemic corruption issue that the APC keeps using to drain the national coffers, ironically suffocating the poor and vulnerable in the name of providing for them.
"It's even worse that the APC has found a way to use poverty as a tool for official corruption—they have weaponized hunger and poverty to manipulate the minds of the weak masses."
Atiku is criticised by APC
Bala Ibrahim, the APC's director of publicity, responded by warning the former vice president against drawing hasty judgements and pointing out that Edu is innocent until and unless the accusations against her are proven.
Criticising Atiku and the PDP, he said that they were the targets of more corrupt accusations than Edu and the APC.
Ibrahim said, "Atiku's record indicates that he read elementary law somewhere." And if he does read the law at all, even at a kindergarten level, he should be aware that an accused person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
According to the APC official, President Tinubu demonstrated that "he is a president that listens to the yearnings of Nigeria and that will act by the provision of the law" by responding to the accusations.
"At this point, where a thorough investigation has been directed, it will be wrong for anyone to," he continued.
He continued, saying that at this point, a thorough investigation has been conducted, so it would be incorrect for anyone to assume that there has been theft or that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs is being used as a conduit to divert public funds for APC governments.
"If it is, the government would not have moved as quickly and appropriately as it did, and the investigations would not have been directed."
"If you say because a few people in the APC are accused of wrongdoing are to limit wrongdoings to the APC, then one is not being fair to the composition of parties," Ibrahim clarified in response to the claim that the APC is a corrupt party.
"There is no party that is composed of saints in Nigeria, and I'm sure it's not the case in other countries either," he went on. "No party can beat its chest and claim its members are infallible."
It is crucial to ensure that the group they are a part of has the guts, the willingness, and the wi