Nigeria’s president has taken decisive action by suspending Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Minister Betta Edu amid allegations of diverting over 585 million naira ($640,000; £500,000) of public funds into a personal bank account.
The suspension, announced on Monday, followed a public outcry over the scandal, with President Bola Tinubu ordering a thorough investigation into Dr. Edu’s ministry. Dr. Edu has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in connection to the alleged financial impropriety.
Her office said she had approved the transfer into a personal account, which was not in her name, but said it was for the “implementation of grants to vulnerable groups.”.
The suspension of a minister is a rare occurrence in Nigeria, and Dr. Edu is the first to lose their job since President Tinubu assumed office in May last year. During his eight-year tenure, Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, dismissed only two ministers.
Last week, leaked documents circulated in local media allegedly showed Dr. Edu instructing a senior Treasury official to transfer funds to the personal account of Bridget Oniyelu, the accountant for the government’s Grants for Vulnerable Groups initiative.
The revelation that the funds were directed to a personal account rather than a government one sparked public outrage.
President Tinubu, responding to the controversy, called for a comprehensive investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as stated in a release on Monday.