The controversy generated by alleged paymemt of N585m into private account of Project Accountant for Grants for Vulnerable Groups is yet to go under as various interested groups have been reacting to the development in social media.
According to a document that surfaced, Minister Betta Edu of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation allegedly transferred N585,198,500.00 into a personal account. This suggests that the crisis involving financial corruption is far from over.
In a widely circulated document addressed to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and signed by Edu, the Minister directed that N585,198,500.00 be paid to one Oniyelu Bridget.
The document additionally demonstrated that N585.198 million, the award intended for vulnerable communities in the states of Lagos, Ogun, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom, was deposited into Oniyelu’s account
Rasheed Zubair, the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, responded to the development by stating that the N585.198 million payment for the disadvantaged group was made in accordance with the law.
According to him, the reason the award was paid to Oniyelu Bridget’s account is that the fellow is currently the Project Accountant for Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
He clarified that the N585.198 million award was intended to support vulnerable populations in the states of Lagos, Ogun, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom.
“For the avoidance, the said N585m was approved, and it is meant to implement grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states.
“We must note that GVG was first launched in Kogi State, where recipients testified. Akwa Ibom and Cross River were launched in December 2023. Kogi already happened in November, and others will be launched in the coming weeks.
“The general public is invited to note that the Renewed Hope Grant for Vulnerable Groups is one of the social intervention schemes of the Federal Government, which the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is implementing.
“Oniyelu Bridget is the Project Accountant for GVG from the Department of Finance, and it is legal in civil service for a staff, the project accountant, to be paid and use the same funds legally and retire the same with all receipts and evidence after the project or programme is completed”, he stated.
Meanwhile, the development caused a stir on social media as Nigerians wondered why a huge sum of the Federal Government’s money would be paid to an individual’s account.
THE MATRIX gathered that public sector financial regulations of 2009 prohibit the payment of public funds to the account of a private individual.
Section 713 of the law states, “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private bank account. An officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with fraudulent intention.”
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu barely four days ago suspended the National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, Halima Shehu, an agency under Edu, over alleged financial misappropriation.
Consequently, Halima Shehu was detained and drilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over an alleged N44 billion fraud.
It is on this note that a well-known writer and lecturer from Nigeria, Farooq Kperogi, has requested that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu fire Betta Edu, for authorizing the transfer of N585,198 million into Bridget Mojisola Oniyelu’s personal account, Edu is facing criticism.
However, in response to the event, Kperogi claimed in a piece published on Saturday via his X handle that the President would not have had the morality to combat corruption if Tinubu had not fired Edu right away.
“Unfortunately, some of the crimes Muhammadu Buhari’s people committed in his eight-year reign are reappearing now. It has now come to light, for example, that Betta Chimaobim Edu, the successor to Sadiya Umar Farouq, has started the same pattern of theft by her predecessor.
“In a leaked December 20, 2023, memo to the Accountant-General of the Federation, Edu instructed that money designated for “vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun and Lagos,” which amounted to more than N500 million, should be paid into the private UBA account of one Bridget Mojisola Oniyelu in violation of Nigeria’s public sector financial regulation law.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has been disassociated by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) from the ongoing inquiries concerning the agency.
The agency made this known in statement on Saturday signed by its National Communications Manager, Jamaludeen Kabir, titled, ‘NSIPA Clarification: Setting the Record Straight on Recent Allegations and Affirming Commitment to Transparency.’
Social media posts purporting to connect Edu to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) ongoing fraud probe into Halima Shehu, the agency’s CEO and suspended national coordinator, are untrue, according to Kabir, and need to be disregarded.
He added that the organization is exhibiting complete cooperation and support for the EFCC’s continuing inquiry, led by Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo, acting as National Coordinator and CEO
Oluwatoyin Madein, the Accountant-General of the Federation, has firmly declined a controversial request from Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. The request, which involved the transfer of N585 million to a private account, has stirred significant public interest and debate.
“The AGF explained that although her Office received the said request from the Ministry, it did not carry out the payment. The Ministry was however advised on the appropriate steps to take in making such payments in line with the established payment procedure.
“The AGF noted that in such situations, payments are usually processed by the affected Ministries as self-accounting entities, and no bulk payment is supposed to be made to an individual’s account in the name of Project Accountant.“She added that such payment should be sent to the beneficiaries through their verified bank accounts.
“Dr Madein reiterated her determination to uphold the principles of accountability and transparency in the management of public finances. She advised MDAs to always ensure that the requisite steps are taken in carrying out financial transactions. “
