A leaked internal memo dated November 6, 2023, purportedly approved by the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, to release funds for flight tickets and airport taxis for the ministry’s staff to Kogi, a state with no airport, might have ditched her.
Edu has been under fire after the memo surfaced wherein she asked the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer ₦585 million to a private account.
The memo, which was issued by the National Programme Manager, requesting the ₦72,374,500, and titled: ‘The Disbursement Under the 2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups Programmes in Kogi state, 2023’, was approved by the minister.
In the memo, the sum is appropriated for the minister’s “advanced team” to travel by air for an “event” in Kogi, which has no airport.
Each of the minister’s “advanced team” members, including aides, received ₦200,000 for flight tickets, ₦20,000 for airport taxi, and local running expenses and DTA depending on grade level — all amounting to ₦72,374,500.
The sum of ₦300,000 was earmarked for the minister’s air ticket.
The instruction for the payment is contained in a leaked letter dated December 20, 2023.
In the letter signed by the minister and titled: “Mandate for Payment of Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos and Ogun States Respectively”, Edu instructed the accountant-general to transfer the aforementioned sum to the UBA account of one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.
Some social media users have called for the probe of the minister and her ministry.
On Saturday, the Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), asked President Bola Tinubu to commence disciplinary proceedings against Edu, saying the minister’s action is a “serious procurement and fiscal malfeasance that attracts serious penalties”.
Amid the public outrage, Edu denied any wrongdoing.
TheCable
