The presidency has ruled out the possibility of the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Betta Edu, returning to Tinubu’s cabinet, stating that she is gone.
This was confirmed by President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in an interview on Sunday in Abuja.
Onanuga said that following her suspension in January, another person has replaced her in the cabinet.
He added that the government has no intention of bringing her back to serve as a minister in the president’s cabinet.
“I think there is another person from Cross River in the cabinet. Betta is gone. She was suspended in January and this is October. She is gone.
“Her position has been taken over by somebody else. There is another man from Plateau State who is going there now. As far as this government is concerned, there is no more place for her in that cabinet,” Onanuga said.
On whether the anti-graft agency, EFCC, has indicted Edu for any crime, Onanuga said the commission has not made anything public yet.
He, however, hinted that the president’s decision not to recall her suggests the agency may have provided him with details that justified his stance.
“The EFCC has not shared whatever they have with us. But if you go by what the president has done, it showed that maybe the EFCC has submitted something that actually justifies that suspension.
“If you follow what the president has done, it means EFCC has revealed something that formed the basis of the president’s action,” Onanuga said.
Backstory
Nairametrics previously reported in January that President Tinubu suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, over allegations of misappropriating N585 million in palliative funds.
- Edu faced significant public backlash after a leaked memo revealed her directive to Oluwatoyin Madein, the Accountant-General of the Federation, to transfer N585 million to a private account. The minister was also criticized for approving funds for flight tickets and airport taxis for ministry staff traveling to Kogi, a state without an airport.
- Meanwhile, Oluwatoyin Madein clarified that she did not comply with Edu’s request, stating that no bulk payment should be made into an individual’s account under the title of Project Accountant.
- Following her suspension, the EFCC launched an investigation into her ministry.
The investigation is still ongoing, with no charges filed against the former minister, raising questions about whether the president might reconsider her return to the cabinet.
