OUTRAGE AS BETTA EDU MOVE ₦585M NSIPA FUND INTO PRIVATE ACCOUNT

 

... Outrage is the handiwork of enemies - aide 

Dr Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation directive to the Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein to send public funds to a private account, according to a letter obtained by this medium is generating outcry by Nigerians. 

The private account belongs to Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola, identified as a project manager by the minister.

A letter from the minister with reference number: FMHAPA/HQ/OHM/S.208 to the Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs Madein dated December 20, 2023, asked that over N585 million should be sent to a private account.

The letter signed by the minister, Dr Edu, is titled ‘Mandate for Payment of Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos and Ogun States Respectively’.

It reads, “I hereby approve the payment of the cumulative sum of five hundred and eighty-five million, one hundred and eighty-nine thousand, five hundred naira (N585,189,500.00). These are payments for programmes and activities of the Renewed Hope Grant for Vulnerable Groups.”

The details show that N219,429,750.00 was for 2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom State; N73,828,750.00 was for 2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Cross River State; N219,462,250.00 was for 2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Lagos State while N72,468,750.00 was for 2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Ogun State.

The letter said the payment of N585,189,500.00 –the total sum – should be made to a UBA account: 2003682151 belonging to Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.

“This payment should be made from the National Social Investment Officer account with account number: 0020208461037 to the Project Accountant’s details listed above,” it added.

It is against public service rules to send public funds into private accounts based on requests by ministers. 

“If a minister can ask the Accountant General of the Federation to move public funds into a private account and the AGF will do it, then it is no wonder the last AGF stole plenty of money,” a source said.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting former Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris and Geoffrey Akindele alongside Mohammed Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market & Exchange Limited on charges of fraudulent diversion of public funds to the tune of N109.5 billion.

Idris and Akindele were accused of committing criminal breach of trust while being entrusted with certain property, to wit N84,390,000,000 between February and November 2021 by “dishonestly receiving the said amount from the Federal Government through Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, trading under the name and style of Olusegun Akindele & Co”.

As a public servant, Idris was also accused of collecting an equivalent of N15.1 million from Akindele between February and December 2021 to accelerate the payment of 13 per cent derivation to nine oil-rich states in the country through the Office of the AGF.

On October 31, 2023, the Nigerian House of Representatives summoned Edu to brief the chamber on the status of the federal government’s conditional cash transfer programme to 15 million households.

In a motion of urgent public importance, the House expressed concern over the handling of the programme, citing a lack of transparency and alleged fraudulent practices.

The lawmakers asked the minister to provide details on the collation of data and the distribution of funds.

President Bola Tinubu launched the conditional cash transfer programme in October as part of his efforts to address poverty and vulnerability in the country. The programme aims to provide monthly cash transfers of N25,000 to each of the 15 million beneficiary households for three months.

The invitation of the minister by the House comes amid reports of irregularities in the program’s implementation, including allegations that some beneficiaries had been excluded while others had been paid multiple times. 

The lawmakers asked the minister to provide details on the collation of data and the distribution of funds.

However, efforts to reach the minister failed as she did not answer calls. She also did not reply to text messages sent to her mobile line.

However Rasheed Zubair, media aide to Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, says the N585 million grant for vulnerable groups was approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

Reacting to the criticism that trailed the decision, Zubair, in a statement on Friday, said the transfer of the N585 million followed “due process”.

Zubair said Bridget, whose bank account was stated to receive the payment, is the project accountant for the Grants for Vulnerable Groups (GVG) scheme.

The media adviser said it is “legal in civil service” for a project accountant to receive payments, use funds legally and retire all receipts as evidence of the project.

He added that the circulation of the document on social media was an attempt to blackmail the minister.

“It is glaring that the same sponsored disgruntled elements in the past few days have been trying to smear the Honourable Minister, Dr Betta Edu, and stain her integrity because she alerted the Federal Government attention to the ongoing N44.8 Billion Fraud in NSIPA,” the statement reads.

“These elements have been trying to link her to a phantom fraud and are behind this latest misadventure.

“However, this latest vile effort of theirs is another infantile blackmail doomed for evisceration. For the avoidance, 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.”