Betta Edu: Tinubu vows sanctions as anger grows over N585m scandal

President Bola Tinubu on Sunday directed a comprehensive inquiry into the alleged N585m scandal in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

He vowed to “decisively punish” those involved in any breaches and infractions unravelled during the investigations.

The President gave the directive in a statement issued by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, as anger grew over the alleged breach of the Federal Government’s financial regulations.

The development comes just as ministries prepare for their first performance assessment by the end of January.

Several groups and individuals including the Peoples Democratic Party, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Femi Falana, SAN; the Yoruba Youth Assembly and other civil society groups demanded an unfettered probe of the leaked memo by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, instructing the Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr Oluwatoyin Madein, to pay N585m into the private bank account of a project accountant in her ministry, Bridget Oniyelu.

The minister had claimed that the N585m payment was meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states, describing the allegations against her as baseless.

The Media Assistant to the Minister, Rasheed Olarenwaju, in a statement, said that it was legal within the civil service for such payments to be made into private accounts of staff members, especially project accountants.