The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, has taken over the affairs of the ministry following the recent suspension of his principal, Betta Edu.
Mr Enitan took over the affairs of the ministry after receiving a letter on Monday night from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to that effect and following the directive given by President Bola Tinubu.
Edu is being investigated over the N585 million she directed the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer to a private account owned by one Oniyelu Bridget, who the ministry claimed currently serves as the Project Accountant, Grants for Vulnerable Groups, among other fraud allegations involving her office.
President Tinubu suspended her and directed her to “hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation,” according to a statement issued by a presidential aide, Ajuri Ngelale.
The statement read: “She is further directed by the President to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as they conduct their investigation.
“Furthermore, the President has tasked a panel that is headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, 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 in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.”
The Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had released the suspended Betta Edu on bail.
A source in the EFCC told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that Edu was “allowed to leave on bail but would be showing up daily, just like Sadiya who was released on Tuesday but told to continue coming to our office pending the investigation on the case”.
Truetells Nigeria had also reported that the passports of Edu and her predecessor, Sadiya Umar-Farouk, were seized to prevent the duo from fleeing the country as investigations continued into alleged fraud perpetrated by them.