Betta Edu: Integrity is our watchword — attempts to tarnish my image will fail

Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, says “plans” to “tarnish” her reputation will fail.

The minister has been under fire after a memo surfaced wherein she asked Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation, to transfer the sum of N585 million to a private account.

The instruction for the payment is contained in a leaked letter dated December 20, 2023.

In the letter signed by the minister and titled: “Mandate for Payment of Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos and Ogun States Respectively”, Edu instructed the accountant-general to transfer the aforementioned sum to the UBA account of one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.

Amid the public outrage, Edu, in a post on X, denied any wrongdoing.

“Integrity and accountability are our watchwords! Under my watch in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, no one will embezzle Government funds as before,” she wrote.

“The plans to tarnish the image of this administration, my person or the Ministry will amount to nothing.”

On Friday, Rasheed Zubair, media aide to Edu, said the money was approved and followed “due process”.

Some social media users have called for the probe of the minister and her ministry.

On Saturday, the Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), asked President Bola Tinubu to commence disciplinary proceedings against Edu, saying the minister’s action is a “serious procurement and fiscal malfeasance that attracts serious penalties”.