Make report of Betta Edu’s probe public, CSO tells Tinubu

The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), a civil society organisation (CSO), says President Bola Tinubu should make the report of the probe of Betta Edu, suspended minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, public.

Earlier in the month, Tinubu suspended Edu 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.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Niyi Akinsiju, IMPI’s chair, said making the report public would tell the international community that the federal government is serious about tackling corruption.

“We take notice of the president’s swift response to corruption allegations against a member of his cabinet, Dr. Betta Edu, by suspending and ordering her investigation,” Akinsiju said.

“Without prejudice to the outcome of the ongoing investigation, we urge the President to not bow to pressure, but ensure that the report of that investigation and those of other government officials under investigation be made public in the spirit of transparency.

“This will go a long way to sending clear signals to local and international audiences about the Tinubu administration’s seriousness to tackle the scourge of corruption as recently observed by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken during a recent visit to Nigeria.”

The chair commended the Tinubu administration for working to ensure that there is food security in the country.

“To crystallise the policy, the administration has introduced an irrigation programme to facilitate and guarantee all-year round farming,” he said.

“Our investigation within the general purview of agriculture implicates the deployment of several policies including waivers on the importation of tractors and farm implements, the recent launch of dry season farming in Jigawa State and the allocation of N102bn to the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADFUND) to mention just a few.

“It is our view that these measures will guarantee adequate food supply in the shortest possible time.”

He added that the removal of subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS) has increased the country’s revenue.