PDP, Atiku call for stiffer sanctions
By Tunde Opalana
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate suspension, investigation and possible prosecution of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The party was reacting to the Minister’s reported involvement in the alleged siphoning of N438 million poverty alleviation fund under the watch of Betta Edu.
The main opposition party said it’s inexcusable that Tunji-Ojo and Edu directly entrusted with the wellbeing of Nigerians reportedly used a company in which the former has huge interest to allegedly siphon funds meant for poor Nigerians under the guise of consultancy fee for unsubstantiated verification of households in the country.
The PDP, in a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, urged President Tinubu to take immediate action to protect the resources meant for the wellbeing of poor Nigerians from further plundering.
The party said the President should suspend and hand Tunji-Ojo over to the EFCC for investigation, just as he did with Edu.
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The PDP said: “Nigerians are appalled by the lame excuse by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in claiming that he has no interest in the company despite his confession of owning huge shares in the firm; a channel through which he allegedly benefitted immensely from the said fraudulent consultancy fee payment.
“Such apparent money laundering stunt is again consistent with the crafty character and proclivity of the APC for plundering of public resources. This is especially given allegations in the public space that bulk of the money was diverted to private accounts of cronies of prominent APC leaders in the National Assembly and the Presidency.
“The PDP challenges the Interior Minister to publish the details of the due process certification documents, the scope of job, the experts and modules used as well as particulars of the 11 million Nigerian households claimed to have been verified within a space of one month.
“The continuing stay in office of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo as Minister of Interior can only further confirm PDP’s position that the Tinubu-led APC administration is a haven for treasury looters.
“The PDP asserts that the only way President Tinubu can reassure Nigerians is to immediately relieve the Minister of Interior and allow for an independent inquiry into the disbursement of the N438 million with the view to not only exposing and prosecuting all those involved in the alleged scam but also to recover and channel the money for the wellbeing of Nigerians.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on his part, commended President Tinubu for suspending Edu from office and handing her over to the EFCC for investigation.
Atiku, who spoke on Tuesday through a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, said the suspension of Edu was commendable, but not enough.
Atiku said it was unfortunate that poverty alleviation programme that was designed to lift over 100 million Nigerians out of extreme poverty had become a cash cow for successive All Progressives Congress (APC) administrations.
He continued: “While Tinubu deserves commendation for suspending Edu, we believe this is a belated move. Firstly, he had no business appointing her as a minister of such a sensitive ministry in the first place.
“Tinubu put politics ahead of competence, hence this scandal. What experience did Betta have in the development sector? How was Imaan Ibrahim, with her wealth of experience, overlooked? How did the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, stand as Betta Edu’s referee during her clearance at the Senate?
“To be fair, it is not only Betta Edu that was involved in this shady transactions. More documents show that the minister of interior’s company also benefitted. Reports suggest that others in the Tinubu government got cash from this same ministry under the dubious Renewed Hope Initiative.
“Betta Edu should not be the fall guy. Others who have remotely and wickedly benefitted from money that was meant for poor Nigerians ought to be fished out, probed, and prosecuted too. It is demonic and tendentiously wicked to steal in the name of the poor.
“Further leaks showed that millions were released by Betta Edu to fund a flight to a non-existent Kogi airport. They must have used witchcraft airways.”
The PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election called for a drastic reform of the Humanitarian Affairs ministry and other interventionist programmes “that have become an ATM and POS for those in power”.
He noted that the fact that the previous Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, was also being probed for N37 billion fraud was evidence that immediate and urgent actions needed to be taken to reform the ministry.
“Even during the COVID-19 lockdown, Farouq continued to implement the school feeding programme. She ridiculously claimed that the food would be delivered to the pupils at home since schools were shut.
“Today, Betta Edu claims that over three million households got N20,000 each during the Yuletide. Sadly, there is no evidence of millions of Nigerians getting such money. This shows that money has just been going into private pockets.
“The scandal that we are contending with is not about Betta Edu, nor about Halima Shehu, or any other rogue element for that matter.
“It is about a problem of systemic corruption through which the APC continues to bleed the treasury, ironically, asphyxiating the poor and vulnerable segment of the country, all in the name of caring for them.
“The APC has weaponized poverty and hunger to control the minds of vulnerable masses, and it is even worse that they have devised a method to use poverty as an instrument of official corruption.”
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