Meanwhile, the team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday warned the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress, APC, administration against weaponising the growing poverty among Nigerians, noting that though commendable, the mere suspension of Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr, Betta Edu, was not enough.
The word of caution was contained in a statement signed by Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in Abuja.
Recall that Edu was suspended by President Tinubu after a leaked memo showed that she ordered the transfer of N585.2 million into the private bank account of a civil servant, who is the accountant in charge of grants for vulnerable Nigerians.
In his response to the scandal, Shaibu said it was unfortunate that a programme that was designed to lift over 100 million Nigerians out of extreme poverty had become a cash cow for successive APC governments.
He said: “While Tinubu deserves commendation for suspending Edu, we believe this is a belated move.
“Firstly, he had no business appointing her as 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 these shady transactions. 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 Atiku aide further said there is a need for the government to reform the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry and other interventionist programmes that had become an ATM and POS for those in power.
He explained that the fact that the previous Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, was also being probed for N37billion fraud was evidence that immediate and urgent action is needed 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 students 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 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 the vulnerable masses, and it is even worse that they have devised a method to use poverty as an instrument of official corruption,’’ he said.
The former Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate’s aide alleged that even the SDG programme being led by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, had also “become a cesspool of corruption as revealed by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism.”
He argued that it would be partial for Tinubu to single out Betta Edu and a few others, while some others from Lagos were being shielded.
Shaibu stated: “The Office of the SSA to the President on SDG was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to help Nigeria meet the SDGs goals. Unfortunately, an investigative report by FIJ showed that the office has also become a cesspool of corruption.’
‘’This SDG office, which is now operating from the Office of the First Lady, needs to be looked into. Betta Edu should not be the only scapegoat. All developmental projects need to be probed and those found wanting, prosecuted.’’
The Atiku aide added that it had become obvious that the monies saved from the removal of petrol subsidy had begun entering into private pockets, if reports of the December rice palliative were anything to go by.
“The Presidency claimed to have given out N100m worth of rice to each member of the House of Representatives and N200m to each senator which was to be shared to their constituents, only for a large number of the lawmakers to deny ever receiving such rice.
“It is obvious that palliative and intervention projects have become the albatross of the Tinubu administration.
“Tinubu must introduce a framework for such projects, rather than arbitrarily sharing food and money in an opaque manner. Nigerians are suffering already. It is evil for the government and their agents to steal from the poor. This is the height of evil.”