THIS week’s column was supposed to be a concluding part of my last week’s piece about narcissism but an issue came up with someone I think I have every right to talk about as a Nigerian and as someone who has supported everything she has done in the past – Dr Betta Edu.
I noticed the minister of humanitarian and poverty elevation, Dr Betta Edu a few years ago, when she was commissioner for health in her state, Cross River state.
She had attended an event for widows and orphans and she delivered a very heart touching speech about showing the less privileged love and compassion. I liked the speech and I liked Betta and I have followed her rise since then.
Over the last few days, the media, mainstream and social media has been awashed with one name and only one – Betta Edu. In fact, the EFCC invitation of her predecessor, Sadiya Farouq that heated up then, now seems a long time ago even though it’s just less than a week ago.
And all of these started with a leaked memo.
A 20 December 2023 memo which shows that she requested the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer public fund – N585.2 million – into a private account of an official in her ministry.
According to the minister’s memo, the fund in question was transferred from the National Social Investment office account and is meant for disbursement to vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states, under the federal government poverty intervention project called Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
Mrs Edu said in the memo that the official, Bridget Oniyelu, whose private account with the United Bank of Africa the N585.2 million was paid into, is the project accountant.
The minister said in the memo that N219.4 million is to be transferred to the vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom State, N73.8 million to Cross River State, N219.4 million to Lagos State, and N72.4 million to Ogun State.
And what is most interesting for me about this whole scandal, is Betta and her aides’ response to the allegation. Instead of admitting and clarifying the reason the minister made such misdemeanor – they choosed to blame someone else for this blunder of the century, with a claim that Halima Shehu, the suspended NSIP national coordinator is fighting back.
Through her media aide, Rasheed Zubair, the minister claimed the memo was leaked as part of a plot to blackmail her.
Madame minister, blackmail, how? What has blackmail got to do with this? Are you saying you don’t know that transferring such money into a private account is a crime? Or are you saying you didn’t write the memo and made request for the transfer of the funds? I mean, I don’t get it.
I will get straight to it. The minister’s response so far to the leaked memo has failed to address some pertinent questions, begging for answers, I will ask them again and hope she gets to answer them for us:
Chapter Seven, Section 713 of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009, which emphasises separating public and personal money in government transactions, states that “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private account (Minister Betta Edu clearly violates this section).”
The section, in addition, says, “Any officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with fraudulent intention.” It is very clear that the intent of the law here is to prevent fraud in government business.
Why would the minister pay such a huge amount of money to a civil servant instead of electronically paying the beneficiaries directly? What is the mechanism in place for accountability?
By Nigeria’s Financial Regulation 2009, only the Minister of Finance is empowered to issue warrants for disbursement of appropriated funds. Why is the Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Betta Edu, playing that role here?
Why is Betta Edu the one initiating a request for payment of public funds when she is not the accounting officer of her ministry or his appointed representative (as stipulated in the financial regulation)?
The National Social Investment Office is an agency under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affair, with its own distinct leadership. Why is Minister Betta Edu the one signing off on transfer of funds from the agency’s account, without the input of the organisation’s CEO?
The minister should just own up to her mistake, resign if need be, apologize to Nigerians and the President. We are all humans and nobody is infallible, a few ministers in the past have made mistakes and none of them resorted to this rabble-rousing response. That’s just how not to be ‘Betta’.
Kabara, is a writer and public commentator. Her syndicated column, Voice, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays. She can be reached on hafceekay01@gmail.com.
