BETTA EDU IS THE TARGET OF THE EFCC WHILE UMAR FAROUQ IS STILL BEING HELD FOR SUSPECTED FRAUD.

Babatunji Wusu –

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, was invited to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) offices in the Jabi neighborhood of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, less than an hour after she was suspended.

Edu’s immediate removal from office was announced by President Bola Tinubu through Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Advisor on Media and Publicity.

The head of the anti-graft agency, Ola Olukoyede, has already suggested to the President that the Minister be suspended in order to allow for a thorough investigation, according to a reliable source within the EFCC.

The source added that the commission moved quickly after the President directed a comprehensive probe into the purported transfer of a N585.189 million grant intended for vulnerable groups in the states of Lagos, Ogun, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom into a private account.

Betta Edu, the suspended minister, has been invited. She received the invitation letter as soon as the President announced her suspension. The source stated, “We are expecting her at the headquarters any moment now.

A former minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, has been held by the agency pending interrogation about claims of corruption in the management of N37.1 billion in social intervention funds during her term.