A document has surfaced, alleging that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Edu Betta, disbursed N585,198,500.00 into a personal account belonging to Oniyelu Bridget. The payment, reportedly signed by Edu and directed to the Accountant-General of the Federation, raised concerns as public sector financial regulations prohibit such transactions.
The document indicated that the payment was meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states. Responding to the development, Edu’s Special Assistant, Rasheed Zubair, explained that Oniyelu Bridget serves as the Project Accountant for the Renewed Hope Grant for Vulnerable Groups, and the payment followed due process.
However, the incident has generated public reactions on social media, with Nigerians questioning the legality of paying public funds into an individual’s account. This comes amid the suspension of the National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Halima Shehu, over alleged financial misappropriation, leading to an EFCC investigation and freezing of N30 billion from NSIPA’s accounts. Additionally, former Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq was invited by the EFCC in connection with a financial scandal involving a contractor, James Okwete.
