EXCLSUIVE: Betta Edu will return as Humanitarian Minister – Presidency

President Bola Tinubu will consider many options and reports of investigation to reinstate suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu.

The President suspended Edu from office on January 8 for her alleged involvement in financial scandal running into billions of Naira belonging to the ministry.

It was alleged that Edu approved payment of hundreds of millions of Naira to civil servants accounts in contravention of extant rules.
One of the payments was the N585 million paid into the United Bank for Africa (UBA) account of a project accountant in the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry. A company belonging to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo was also reported to have received N438 million payment for unverifiable contract.

The suspended Minister is currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), but according to a source from the presidency, the minister is nearing a return to official duty as soon as the president returns from France.

The PAPERS also gathered that some prominent chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are reported to be mounting pressure on the President to give Edu a soft landing.

The party leaders hinged their pleas on the fact that Edu, in her previous position as National Woman Leader of the APC, played a key role in mobilising support for Tinubu’s election during the last electioneering.

They reminded the President that it was in recognition of her contribution to the victory of the APC in the last presidential election that earned her the ministerial appointment in the first place.

“Edu is returning as minister, I think anytime soon, she’s not guilty of the investigation so far, and I think there are many truths to be unveiled, but she’s coming back,’ a source revealed from the presidency.