Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, GOLDENNEWSNG provides the latest update on suspended Minister Betta Edu, her predecessor Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, and others implicated in the scandal.
Betta Edu, the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, has distanced herself from groups organizing protests demanding her reinstatement to President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.
In a statement released on Monday by her media aide, Rasheed Olanrewaju, Edu asserted that she did not authorize any groups to coordinate public prayers and protests on her behalf. She expressed confidence in and commitment to the ongoing government inquiry, emphasizing her full cooperation with the authorities. Edu also clarified that she did not sponsor any public activities and urged those planning actions in her support to halt for a seamless investigation into the allegations against her.
In a separate development, legal practitioner Inibehe Effiong called for the abolition of social intervention programs, including N-Power, administered by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, Effiong argued that these programs have failed to effectively alleviate poverty in Nigeria. He criticized the government’s proposal to spend N3 billion on auditing the social register and suggested the complete scrapping of these initiatives, citing their negligible impact on poverty rates, inflation, and the purchasing power of Nigerians.
Furthermore, APC Chieftain Abayomi Nurain Mumuni urged Nigerians to support the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its investigation into the alleged misappropriation of N583 million by Betta Edu. In a statement released over the weekend, Mumuni emphasized the importance of allowing the EFCC to conduct its investigations without public interference. The call comes in the context of the controversy surrounding Edu’s suspension and accusations of diverting government funds into a private account.
