Corruption case against Humanitarian minister, Betta Edu & Halima enters voice mail as EFCC keeps silent two months after

Two months after the suspension of Dr. Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have left Nigerians in the dark on the next line of action.

Findings by our correspondent at the weekend revealed that the EFCC, after the January 8 suspension of Edu, followed by a thorough investigation, had submitted an interim to the presidency, reports Daily Trust.

It was learnt that the anti-graft agency had submitted the interim report of its investigation into the allegations against the suspended minister, and recommended that Edu be prosecuted.

However, considering the roles she played in the success of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), some influential people, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio are alleged to be mounting pressure on President Bola Tinubu to give her “a soft landing”.

Sources said the influential backers are appealing that Edu be giving another appointment, not necessarily returned to her ministerial position.

Conversely, it was learnt that Halima Shehu, the suspended coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), may have been cleared by the EFCC in its interim report, according to one of our sources.

“The leaked documents about releases by NSIPA under Halima have been scrutinised by the EFCC. Those expenses are found to have followed standard procedures because all relevant parties endorsed their signatures.

“The monies were discovered to have been released for the purposes they were earmarked. Besides, Halima only continued the disbursements from where her predecessor stopped. And this was to avoid litigations, because the contractors had presented certificates of no objection,” the source said.

Another source said, “But a strong personality in the Villa was not happy with the report from the EFCC and therefore told those who brought it to take it back and review the report further.”

But when contacted to talk about the validity of the claim that an interim report had been submitted to President Tinubu, Dele Oyewale, the spokesman of the EFCC, told our correspondent that investigation about the matter is still on. Asked when the investigation would be concluded, considering that credible sources had confirmed the submission of an interim report, Oyewale declined further comments.

On his part, when contacted on the allegation that Akpabio was working hard to secure “a soft landing” for the suspended humanitarian minister, Eseme Eyiboh, who is the spokesman of the Senate president, said, “Betta Edu is never in the legislature and she is not a minister appointed by the president of the Senate.

“I recall that she was suspended by her appointer and not the President of the Senate. This was intended to pave the way for an official public service procedure. There is no way the president of the Senate could have or can influence the determination of the fate of any minister and particularly Dr Betta Edu”, the Senate president’s media adviser stated.

Outcome of investigation under wraps

Investigations by our correspondent at the EFCC showed that the suspended officials have not been listed for prosecution, which is part of the responsibilities of the anti-graft agency, according to the Act establishing it.

Recall that Edu landed in trouble after a memo surfaced online, wherein she asked the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer the sum of N585 million to a private account.

Thereafter, other documents where she made controversial approvals, including approving air fares to Kogi, a state without an airport, went viral, prompting the president to suspend her.

Separate investigation by finance minister

Apart from the EFCC probe, Tinubu directed that the panel led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun should “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”.

The suspended social investment programmes are currently domiciled in the humanitarian affairs ministry, and were initially being implemented by NSIPA.

The programmes – N-Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and Home Grown School Feeding Programme – were placed on hold after Tinubu suspended Edu.

But a new twist was introduced into the imbroglio when the Wale Edun- led presidential panel recommended the removal of the intervention initiatives from the purview of the humanitarian affairs ministry and transferred to the federal ministry of finance.

In some documents that surfaced on line, the presidential panel stated that the suspended programmes should be resumed to alleviate the sufferings of poor and vulnerable Nigerians, but that a new board under the leadership of Edun should oversee the social investment programmes.

“Convene a steering committee/board under the leadership of the Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy to oversee the coordination of programmes,” it reads in part.

It was earlier reported on February 21, 2024, that Edun had hinted on plans to relaunch direct cash transfers to about 12 million vulnerable Nigerians amid the high cost of living in the country.

He disclosed this during a retreat organised by his ministry in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Edun stated that while the initial project was designed for 3 million Nigerians, the current hardship has become a factor in increasing the number of recipients to 12 million.

The minister said, “The presidential panel on the social investment programmes has prepared to go to Mr. President with an internal recommendation to restart the direct payments to the poorest and the most vulnerable. Everything is being done to ease the pain.

“We know that there have been about 3 million beneficiaries now, but given the way the rates have gone, there are probably another 12 million people, households that can benefit from that payment,” the minister said.

When contacted yesterday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, declined comments on whether or not the interim report had been submitted to his principal.