The end is yet to be seen in the
alleged financial corruption scandal rocking the Federal Ministry of
Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as a document emerged that the
Minister, Edu Betta allegedly disbursed N585,198,500.00 into a personal
account.
According to a viral document
signed by Edu directed to the Office of the Accountant-General of the
Federation, the Minister instructed the disbursement of N585,198,500.00 to one,
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, was made into Oniyelu’s account.
However, reacting to the development, the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Minister, Rasheed Zubair said N585.198 million payment for the vulnerable group followed due process.
He stated that the payment of the
grant to the account of an individual, Oniyelu Bridget, was because the fellow
currently serves as the Project Accountant of Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
He explained that the payment of
the N585.198 million grant was meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross
River, Ogun and Lagos states.
“For the avoidance, 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”, he stated.
Meanwhile, the development caused
a stir on social media as Nigerians wondered why a huge sum of the Federal
Government’s money would be paid to an individual’s account.
DAILY POST gathered that public
sector financial regulations of 2009 prohibit the payment of public funds to
the account of a private individual.
Section 713 of the law states,
“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.”
Recall that President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu barely four days ago suspended the National Coordinator of the National
Social Investment Programme Agency, Halima Shehu, an agency under Edu, over
alleged financial misappropriation.
Consequently, Halima Shehu was
detained and drilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,
over an alleged N44 billion fraud.
Following an investigation, EFCC
froze N30 billion moved from NSIPA’s accounts.
Similarly, a former Minister of
the Ministry, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, was invited by the EFCC over a financial
scandal allegedly carried out through one contractor, James Okwete.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com