Photo: Dr Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Minister confirms N585m payment into private account amid multibillion naira fraud allegations
Dr Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, has confirmed that she directed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, to disburse the sum of N585,198,500.00 into a personal bank account amid alleged financial sleaze in the ministry.
Edu in a statement issued by her Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Minister, Rasheed Zubair, said that the N585.198 million, which was paid into the personal bank account of one Oniyelu Bridget, was for onward payment to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun and Lagos states.
The minister explained that the payment followed due process, adding that it was because the receipient currently serves as the Project Accountant of Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the said N585m was approved, and it is meant to implement grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states.
“We must note that GVG was first launched in Kogi State, where recipients testified. Akwa Ibom and Cross River were launched in December 2023. Kogi already happened 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 the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is implementing.
“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 the same funds legally and retire the same with all receipts and evidence after the project or programme is completed”, the statement said.
It would be recalled that a viral document signed by Edu directed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, to disburse the sum of N585,198,500.00 to Oniyelu Bridget.
The document also showed that the payment of the N585.198 million grant, meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun and Lagos states, caused a stir on social media as Nigerians wondered why a huge sum of the Federal Government’s money would be paid into an individual’s account.
For instance, public sector financial regulations of 2009 prohibits the payment of public funds to the account of a private individual.
According to Section 713 of the law: “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.”
The development comes in the wake of the recent suspension of Ms Halima Shehu, the National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Program Agency (NSIPA) an agency under Edu, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over an alleged N44 billion fraud.
Following an investigation into the alleged financial scandals rocking the Ministry, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arrested and quizzed Shehu, as well as froze N30 billion moved from NSIPA’s accounts.
The anti-graft agency also invited the ministry’s immediate past Minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, over alleged financial fraud by a contractor, James Okwete and other multibillion naira financial infractions which took place under her watch.
She has yet to appear before the EFCC.
