…As ex-Minister honours EFCC invitation
President Bola Tinubu has ordered a panel to review the structure of social investment programmes in the country.
Recall that the organised labour and concerned civil society groups had earlier urged the President to review how the programmes are structured in order for them to benefit Nigerians and not a select few.
This move by the President however gives him the recognition of a President who is attentive to the cries of citizens and is out to take action to execute the goodwill of Nigerians.
The President 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.
This follows a series of financial misappropriations rocking the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier arrested the National Coordinator of the National Social Investment programme agency (NSIPA), Halima Shehu for her alleged involvement in the transfer of N17billion from the Agency’s accounts to suspicious beneficiaries within a week.
The President on Monday also suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu.
“The President further directs the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder.
“The suspended Minister is hereby directed to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and she is further directed by the President to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as they conduct their investigation,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq appeared for investigation at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.
In a post via X on Monday morning, the embattled former minister said she had just arrived at the commission’s headquarters to offer clarifications.
“I have, at my behest, arrived at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to honour the invitation by the anti-graft agency to offer clarifications in respect of some issues that the commission is investigating,” she wrote.
The ex-minister, who is being probed over the sum of N37,170,855,753.44 that was allegedly laundered under her watch through a contractor, James Okwete, arrived at the EFCC office on Monday morning.
Newsmen had reported that the former minister, who served under the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, was invited last week by the anti-graft agency following a probe that was launched into her activities in the ministry.