• Northern coalition asks Tinubu to sustain anti-corruption tempo
• APC governors caution against hasty judgments
• Disregard calls for Tunji-Ojo’s sack, coalition urges Tinubu

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has asked President Bola Tinubu not to spare anyone found culpable in the scandal uncovered at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

This is just as the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) faulted the appointment of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, to run the ministry after the suspension of Dr Betta Edu.

Edu came under criticism after a leaked memo on December 20, 2023, revealed that she directed the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer N585 million to a private account owned by one Oniyelu Bridget, who the ministry claimed currently serves as the Project Accountant, Grants for Vulnerable Groups.

Obi made his appeal in a statement via his verified X-handle on Thursday. The Labour Party candidate noted that the government should go beyond the suspension of the minister and carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

He described Edu’s suspension as a welcome development, calling on the government to give the problem of public sector corruption its deserved urgency.

He further expressed his disappointment, saying a ministry created in good faith to attend to the plight of the suffering masses was being turned into a conduit pipe to steal from the poor, as seen in the current and previous ministers of the ministry.

The former Anambra governor cautioned against taking the issue lightly, saying the suspension of the minister should not be a window-dressing action but rather a peg to get all those who are deserving of blame punished, just like the minister.

Obi said: “By a sad coincidence, the alleged fraudulent diversion of N585 million of public money by Edu broke almost at the same moment that the minister, who held the same portfolio in the last administration, is being investigated for a whopping N37 billion misappropriation.

“The ministry may have been created by the system as a conduit pipe to siphon public funds while using the poor as a face. Equally worrisome and disgusting is the fact that the missing funds are meant for poverty alleviation in a time of severe suffering among the people.”

Obi further urged the Federal Government to go beyond the 60 per cent cut in travel allowance of officials by cutting down the cost of the entire governance structure by 60 per cent, which the current economic reality in the country demands.

“This implies that the recently passed federal budget needs to be revised to cut all wasteful and unnecessary items. This is the level of cost-cutting and savings that can impact meaningfully the present state of the economy.

“Our problem as a nation has gone beyond token populist gestures and announcements. We must be informed of the real details of the measures being implemented on our behalf.
“For a government that has made a hobby of indiscriminate borrowing, the only way to salvage the economy is to drastically cut the cost of government by reducing wasteful expenses and spending on inessential luxury items.”

Faulting the appointment of the Permanent Secretary the Ministry in the eye of the storm, Enitan, to replace Edu as investigation into the scandal continues, CISLAC described the development as unacceptable, alleging that Enitan, who is an accounting officer of the ministry being investigated, should not be allowed to supervise the ministry.

CISLAC executive director, Auwal Rafsanjani, in a statement on Thursday, said the action will compromise the investigation, noting that it is an insult to the intelligence of the public, at best.

He said: “The impression to right thinking people is that the government is planning a river of heist and abuse of public trust. By our extant regulations and laws, the Permanent Secretary is the accounting officer who should have been suspended along with the Minister.

“Ministers work on recommendations of civil servants led by the Permanent Secretary. There is no evidence that the Permanent Secretary did not participate in the matters being investigated. In any case, the Permanent Secretary did not object to what happened and should be a subject of investigations.
“We are seriously perturbed that top officers, who are connected with approvals and sanctions of financial and procurement process within the Ministry like the Permanent Secretary are yet to be suspended or subjected to thorough investigation till their innocence is proven; instead, they are promoted to sensitive positions, where the ongoing investigation could easily be hampered or sabotaged.
“Appointment of Enitan to head the Ministry will certainly undermine the credibility and respect accorded the current administration,” he said.

Rafsanjani further called on the President to consider persons with integrity, track record and free of corruption background in future appointments to demonstrate his readiness for good governance in Nigeria.

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), however, called on President Tinubu to maintain the momentum generated by his administration in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

CNG also emphasised the need for meticulous investigation and full implementation of the recommendations that may arise.

A statement yesterday by the national coordinator of CNG, Jamilu Aliyu Charanci, while recognising his prompt response to the financial scandal by suspending Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, warns against trivialising the efforts of eradication by some regional groups sponsored to give the ongoing investigations a tribal and religious coloration.

He said: “It is essential to ensure that the tempo does not dissipate, as it has already reignited citizens’ confidence in the government’s commitment to safeguarding the nation’s resources.
“The speed at which President Tinubu has responded to the national call for action is a testament to his dedication to re-engineering the system by strengthening its weakened institutions.”

The group specifically highlighted the importance of strengthening the policy coordination unit led by Hadiza Bala Usman to guarantee that each minister adheres to due diligence and ethical conduct in their respective roles.

Meanwhile, governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have urged Nigerians to await anti-graft investigation findings, and not judge the suspended Minister.

Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, who stated this in Abuja yesterday, disclosed that APC governors are united. He also assured that the APC governors will continue to support Tinubu’s administration to achieve the Renewed Hope agenda.

He said: “The functions of a government include encouraging good things, good appointees, and discouraging bad things and bad appointees. But as it has to do with what you just said, it’s just an allegation. And in the wisdom of the President, it is being investigated.

“It is after the investigation is completed and the report made available to the government that the government will now take a final decision. So don’t be in a hurry and don’t allow any sickness like ‘anxietyserosis’”.

In similar vein, Executive Director, National Civil Society Council of Nigeria, (NCSCN), Bassey Akinlosotu, has appealed to Nigerians to consider the good work the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has been doing and end calls for his resignation over the contracts scandal rocking the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

Made up of over 500 Civil Society Organisations, (CSOs), the group at a press conference in Abuja argued that there is clear evidence the Minister and his wife have resigned from the Board of Directors of the company hereby cease to control the company.

“It will be erroneous and out of place to expect a company established to render service and create job opportunities to be shut down just because a former director has decided to serve in the status of a public servant, we frown at this mob judgment and call on Nigerians to restrain.”

Tunji-Ojo came under criticism following the controversy surrounding the suspended Minister Edu’s award of contracts worth N3 billion under questionable circumstances.

A leaked memo revealed that a company, New Planet Project Limited, founded by the minister and his wife, benefited, and was awarded a contract worth N438 million as consultancy for the verification of the National Social Register, (NSR).

However, the minister has since denied any wrongdoing or breach of public service rules claiming he had resigned as director of the company and does not partake in the running of its affairs.