Phrank Shaibu, Particular Assistant on Public Communication to the previous Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has instructed President Bola Tinubu that though his suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, is commendable, it’s not sufficient.
The president slammed her with a suspension following a leaked memo exhibiting that she ordered the switch of N585.2 million into the personal checking account.
In an announcement issued on Tuesday, Shaibu mentioned that it was unlucky {that a} programme that was designed to carry over 100 million Nigerians out of utmost poverty had develop into a money cow for successive All Progressives Congress (APC) governments.
He said: “Whereas Tinubu deserves commendation for suspending Edu, we consider this can be a belated transfer. Firstly, he had no enterprise appointing her as a minister of such a delicate ministry within the first place. Tinubu put politics forward of competence, therefore this scandal. What expertise did Betta have within the improvement sector?”
The aide additionally drew the eye of the general public to different leaks that confirmed that the ministry, underneath Edu’s watch, gave an organization owned by the Minister of Inside, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, a complete of N438.1 million for consultancy companies.
In keeping with him, “To be truthful, it’s not solely Betta Edu that was concerned in these shady transactions. Extra paperwork present that the minister of inside’s firm additionally benefited. Stories recommend that others within the Tinubu authorities received money from this similar ministry underneath the doubtful Renewed Hope Initiative.
“Betta Edu shouldn’t be the autumn man. Others who’ve remotely and wickedly benefitted from cash that was meant for poor Nigerians must be fished out, probed, and prosecuted too. It’s demonic and tendentiously depraved to steal within the identify of the poor.
“Additional leaks confirmed that tens of millions have been launched by Betta Edu to fund a flight to a non-existent Kogi airport. They will need to have used witchcraft airways.”
Atiku’s aide mentioned there was a necessity for the federal government to reform the humanitarian affairs ministry and different interventionist programmes that had develop into an ATM and POS for these in energy.
He famous that the truth that the earlier Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, was additionally being probed for N37bn fraud was proof that quick and pressing actions wanted to be taken to reform the ministry.
Shaibu said, “Even throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, Farouq continued to implement the varsity feeding programme. She ridiculously claimed that the meals can be delivered to the scholars at dwelling since colleges have been closed.
“At the moment, Betta Edu claims that over three million households received N20,000 every throughout the Yuletide. Sadly, there isn’t a proof of tens of millions of Nigerians getting such cash. This exhibits that cash has simply been going into personal pockets.
“The scandal that we’re contending with just isn’t about Betta Edu, nor about Halima Shehu, or every other rogue ingredient for that matter.
“It’s about an issue of systemic corruption by which the APC continues to bleed the treasury, paradoxically asphyxiating the poor and weak section of the nation, all within the identify of caring for them.
“The APC has weaponized poverty and starvation to manage the minds of the weak lots, and it’s even worse that they’ve devised a technique to make use of poverty as an instrument of official corruption.”
Atiku’s aide famous that different businesses within the administration had additionally develop into a cesspool of corruption, as revealed by the Basis for Investigative Journalism.
He mentioned it will be partial for Tinubu to single out Edu and some others whereas different corrupt officers have been shielded.
Atiku’s aide added that it had develop into apparent that the monies saved from the removing of petrol subsidies had begun coming into personal pockets if studies of the December rice palliative have been something to go by.
He added, “The Presidency claimed to have given out N100 million value of rice to every member of the Home of Representatives and N200 million to every senator, which was to be shared with their constituents, just for numerous the lawmakers to disclaim ever receiving such rice.
“It’s apparent that palliative and intervention tasks have develop into the albatross of the Tinubu administration. Tinubu should introduce a framework for such tasks fairly than arbitrarily sharing meals and cash in an opaque method. Nigerians are struggling already. It’s evil for the federal government and their brokers to steal from the poor. That is the peak of evil.”
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