Npower: Presidency Silent on Betta Edu's Investigation Forty Three Days After President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Directive

According to Npower six weeks after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended Betta Edu as Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and directed her investigation, the Presidency has been mum over the issue.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive, which came in the wake of public outburst, was based on allegations of misappropriation of funds in Betta Edu’s ministry.

According to Npower the former minister, Betta Edu had found herself caught in a web of controversies; first for allegedly endorsing funds for air fare to Kogi — a state with no airport.

The alleged approval was contained in a leaked internal memo dated November 6th, 2023.

According to Npower, in the leaked internal memo, the sum of N72,374,500 was allocated to the minister’s “advance team” to travel by air for an “event” in Kogi.

Each of the minister’s “advance team” members, including aides, was allocated the sum of N200,000 for flight tickets, N20,000 for airport taxi, local running expenses, and DTA depending on grade level — all amounting to N72,374,500. The sum of N300,000 was earmarked for Betta Edu’s flight ticket.

According to Npower, few days later, another leaked memo surfaced online, wherein Betta Edu requested Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein, the accountant-general of the federation, to pay N585 million to the personal account of a government official.

The money was to be transferred from the National Social Investment Office (NSIP) account to a bank account owned by Bridget Oniyelu, the accountant of Grants for Vulnerable Groups (GVG), a federal government intervention initiative.

As a result of the outcry by Nigerians over the scandal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended Betta Edu on January 8th 2024 and directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to “conduct a holistic and thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transaction” involving Betta Edu.

According to Npower, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also directed a panel headed by Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, to “among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of Npower and other social investment programs with a view to conclusively restructure the relevant institutions and programmes”.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also suspended all administered programmes by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA). The humanitarian ministry supervises the NSIPA.

However, forty three days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directives, little has been heard about Betta Edu's investigation and Npower.

According to Npower, Edun’s committee has met twice over the matter, but the presidential spokespersons, Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser on media and publicity, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, senior special assistant on print media, Tope Ajayi, senior special assistant on media and publicity, Fredrick Nwabufo, senior special assistant on public engagement, and Dele Oyewale, spokesperson for the EFCC, have all failed to respond to calls or messages when contacted for an update on the investigation.