Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has confirmed that suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Betta Edu, has been officially relieved of her ministerial duties following President Bola Tinubu’s recent cabinet reshuffle.
”Betta Edu is gone,” Onanuga declared on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
“She was suspended in January and this is October. She is gone, officially. Her position has been taken over by the Plateau man.
“As far as this government is concerned, there is no more place for her in this cabinet,” the presidential spokesman said, adding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) might have submitted some information that justified her dismissal.
To replace Edu, Tinubu on Thursday appointed Plateau-born Nentawe Yilwatda, a lecturer with the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State. The President has written the Senate to confirm the appointment of Yilwatda and six others.
Tinubu appointed 48 ministers in August 2023, about three months after he was inaugurated as Nigeria’s president. He appointed Heineken Lokpobiri as Minister of State, Oil; and appointed Ekperipe Ekpo as Minister of State, Gas, but retained the senior petroleum minister role just like his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
Edu’s Denial
Controversy had enveloped Edu’s alleged involvement in the approval of N585,198,500.00 to be disbursed into a personal account.
She had allegedly instructed the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer the sum to the account of one Oniyelu Bridget as grants for vulnerable groups in four states.
Madein confirmed that although her office received a request from the humanitarian ministry to make certain payments, her office did not act on it.
Edu subsequently said there were plans to tarnish her image, and that she won’t embezzle government funds.
Incidentally, the EFCC also probed Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Farouq, over alleged laundering of N37.1 billion during her tenure as a minister under the administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President had directed EFCC boss Ola Olukoyede, “to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions” involving the ministry and “one or more agencies thereunder”
One of Tinubu’s 48 ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended in January 2024, while another, Simon Lalong, resigned and joined the Senate.
With Nigeria’s wobbling economy, skyrocketing inflation and worsening security, Tinubu, former Lagos governor, has faced intense criticism over his ministers’ performance in the last 15 months since their appointment.
The President succumbed to the calls for him to shake up his cabinet on Wednesday, with the disengagement of five ministers, the reassignment of 10 others and seven fresh appointments.
