HOT: Poverty Minister, Betta Edu, Suspended By Tinubu After She Stole $640K (£500K)

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Nigerian Poverty Minister, Betta Edu, suspended by Tinubu after she stole $640K (£500K).

Nigeria’s president has suspended a minister over the alleged diversion of more than 585 million naira ($640,000; £500,000) of public money into a personal bank account.

Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Minister Betta Edu was suspended on Monday following public outrage over the scandal.

A statement from President Bola Tinubu’s office said he had ordered an investigation into Dr Edu’s ministry.

Dr Edu has denied any wrongdoing. The PDP spokesman stated, “Equally disheartening is the reports of how Betta Edu allegedly directed the transfer of the N585.2 million NSIPA money into the private account of one of her fronts in clear violation of Chapter 7, Section 713 of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations, 2009, which expressly prohibits the payment of public money into a private account.

“For emphasis, Section 713 of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations, 2009 provides that ‘Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private bank account. An officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with a fraudulent intention’.

Dr Edu, 37, is the youngest minister in President Tinubu’s cabinet and is seen as a close ally of the president.

The suspension of a minister is a rare occurrence in Nigeria – Dr Edu is the first to lose their job since President Tinubu took office in May last year.

His predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, sacked only two ministers during his eight-year tenure.

Last week, local media reported on a leaked document that allegedly showed Dr Edu instructing a senior treasury official to transfer the money to the personal account of Bridget Oniyelu, the accountant for the government’s Grants for Vulnerable Groups initiative.