Beta Edo and his predecessor are being investigated for suspicious financial dealings at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
The Nigerian President on Monday suspended the country's Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation over the use of a private bank account in the ministry's financial transactions on the government's social welfare programme.
Beta Edo has been suspended with immediate effect while the Nigerian Anti-Corruption Agency conducts a “thorough investigation” into all the ministry’s financial dealings, presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngilali said in a statement. She added that the investigation would extend to the entire framework of social investment programs in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu took power last year promising to crack down on corruption in Nigeria, despite long-standing question marks over the source of his wealth and educational records. Within a month of his inauguration, he indefinitely suspended the head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges of abuse of office.
His government said the suspension follows his commitment to “uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency and accountability” in how Nigeria’s resources are managed.
Edo's comment comes days after local media pointed to an official memorandum directing that grants worth 585 million naira ($663,000) intended for vulnerable groups should be paid into a special account – a decision that the minister's office said followed due process. The minister denied any wrongdoing.
In a country where the government's austerity measures have increased pressure on millions of people facing extreme levels of poverty, many Nigerians criticized the use of a private bank account for the grant program and called for the minister to be sacked.
The Office of the Accountant General of the Nigerian Federation said in a statement that these funds are intended to be sent directly from government accounts to the beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Edo's predecessor, Sadiya Umar Farouq, submitted a report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday during an investigation into alleged corruption in the disbursement of public funds during her tenure as minister. Farouk said on social media that she was present at the authority’s office “to provide clarifications regarding some of the issues that the authority is investigating.”
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