Betta Edu: Tinubu will renew hopes… things will get better

Betta Edu, former minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, says Nigeria is going through a phase and would soon emerge from it.

Edu spoke on Sunday in Abuja during the celebration of her 38th birthday. 

The ex-minister said she is confident that the President Bola Tinubu administration would take Nigerians to a better place. 

She also pleaded for patience from citizens. 

“And I want to thank God for all of you. Thank you for standing by me and supporting Nigerian youths,” she said.

“I would use this opportunity to equally pray for our dear country, and I am confident that Nigeria will be better. I am confident that indeed hopes of Nigerians will be renewed.

“I am confident that God will give the president and our leader President Bola Ahmed Tinubu the wisdom to be able to manage this country. And I am confident that things will change for the better.

“What we want to say to Nigerians is that with more patience, things will begin to get better. We are going through a phase and we’d soon be out of it and everybody will be happy again.

“The ark of God will come back.”

BETTA EDU’S SUSPENSION

On January 8, Tinubu suspended Edu as minister following the release of a memo wherein she asked Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation, to transfer N585 million to a private account.

The president directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the financial transactions of the humanitarian ministry.

Before her suspension, the president had suspended Halima Shehu as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) over alleged financial malfeasance.

Subsequently, the president suspended all programmes administered by NSIPA for six weeks. 

In April, the EFCC said it recovered N30 billion from the investigation involving Edu, adding that 50 bank accounts were under probe.

On October 27, 2024, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, said Edu has now left the federal cabinet for good. 

“Betta Edu is gone. She was suspended in January, and this is October. She is gone. Her position has been taken over by somebody else… that is the man from Plateau state (Yilwatda),” he said.

“As far as this government is concerned, there is no longer a place for her in that cabinet.”