President Bola Tinubu has suspended Betta Edu as minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation.
Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Edu has been embroiled in a controversy after a memo surfaced indicating that she asked the Accountant-General of the federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer the sum of N585 million to a private account.
Ngelale said, “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 statement added that the suspension was in line the President’s “avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians.”
The statement directed the suspended minister to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The statement further directed her 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.
“These directives of the President take immediate effect”, the statement said.
