By Sawa Paul
Prominent civil rights advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked the minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Miss Betta Edu to resign or excuse her self from duty for some time so she can submit herself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to explain how any kind of financial rules under operation in public offices, allows for public fund to be warehoused in a private individual’s bank account.
Recalling that the public sector financial regulations of 2009 prohibits the payment of public funds to the account of a private individual just as specifically, Section 713 of the law states that: “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private bank account. An officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with fraudulent intention,” HURIWA said it is double standard if the president suspended his appointee heading the social investment coordinating office for exactly the allegations of paying in public funds worth over N34 billion as alleged by EFCC into private accounts but only for the cabinet level minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to be going about the public space seeking justification for also directing that public fund be paid into a private account no matter the status of that account holder.
HURIWA calls on the President and the EFCC to use a universal yardstick in the enforcement of the anti-graft laws since the law shouldn’t be made to be afraid of certain individuals because they are senior national figures in the ruling All Progressives Congress whereas all others are treated with severely adversarial yardstick just as their investigations suddenly become the main talking points in the public media.
“We are not Accusing the minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation of committing any infractions, but based on the media statements that her office has issued so far, the attempt to convince Nigerians that it is lawful to keep public fund in private account is just like the polemic promoted by one erstwhile civilian governor of Kano State in the second Republic that public fund can be kept in government House since government House is a publicly funded house. It is incongruous and indeed puerile to say that on one hand, the EFCC arrested one official of the same government over allegations of payments of public funds into private accounts but on the same breath, a cabinet level minister is inundating the public space with her submission that keeping public money in private account of someone heading a certain portfolio, is appropriate. This sounds illogical and fallacious and by the way, if as the Minister argued that under a certain civil service rule, public funds can be kept under private accounts, why then does the financial regulations Act governing public service in Nigeria say the exact opposite?”
HURIWA recalled that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has cried out to Nigerians over what she described as “disgruntled elements” trying to stain her hard earned integrity following the Federal Government ongoing 44.8 Billion Fraud investigation in NSIPA.
The minister said these elements have been trying to link her to a phantom fraud and are behind this latest misadventure by displaying on social media a memo from the ministry to the Accountant-General of the Federation approving for payment, of the sum of N585,189,500.00 Renewed Hope Grant for Vulnerable Groups, (GVGs), for four states, which is currently being circulated in the social media.
In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Rasheed Zubair, she explains; “For the avoidance of doubt, the said N585,198,500.00 was approved, and it is meant for the implementation of grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states.
“We must, however, note that GVG was first launched in Kogi state where recipients testified. Akwa Ibom and Cross River were launched in December 2023, Kogi in November, and others will be launched in the coming weeks.
“The general public is invited to note that the Renewed Hope Grant for Vulnerable Groups is one of the social intervention schemes of the federal government, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation,” the statement contained.
As issues around the suspension of NSIPA boss, Halima Shehu, her quick replacement in acting capacity by Dr. Akindele Egbuwale of NPower, her detention and subsequent release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), evolve, the minister is forced to come out and debunk series of similar allegations that has been coming her way.
In this latest development, Dr. Edu is urging Nigerians to discountence these allegations claiming that “It is glaring that the same sponsored disgruntled elements in the past few days have been trying to smear her image and stain her integrity following the Federal Government ongoing 44.8 Billion Fraud in NSIPA.
She insisted that the “Fund for Vulnerable Groups In the four states was approved and went through due Process.
“Oniyelu Bridget is the Project Accountant for GVG from the department of finance and it is legal in civil service for a staff, the project accountant to be paid and use same funds legally and retire same with all receipts and evidence after project or Programme is completed.
“The evil motive of the mischief-makers behind the circulation of the memo is well-known and should be ignored.”
HURIWA which emphasized that nobody has paid them to intervene in this public interest conversations, however thinks that it is strange to argue that the public fund can be kept in private account whereas a top government official under the same Humanitarian Affairs sector has just been harangued, and pursued vigourously and arrested by the EFCC and the story was all over the media front pages for exactly doing the same thing of allegedly keeping public fund in private accounts or is the EFCC not allowed to interrogate serving ministers?
“If the EFCC can’t interrogate serving ministers, then the minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation should step aside to allow for unfettered investigation because it is unpalatable and preposterous that same case of keeping money in private accounts are treated separately with one treated as alleged crime and the other is seen as being okay just because it has some approval which violate extant fiscal responsibility Act.
