Phrank Shaibu, an aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has urged President Bola Tinubu to identify and expose the collaborators of suspended minister Betta Edu.
Shaibu commended the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation involved in a disbursement scandal, but he deemed it insufficient. In a statement on Tuesday, Shaibu expressed disappointment that a program designed to uplift over 100 million Nigerians out of extreme poverty had become a source of financial gain for successive governments of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He stated, “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?”
Shaibu emphasized that Betta Edu should not be the sole scapegoat and called for the identification, investigation, and prosecution of others who have benefited from funds intended for poor Nigerians. He asserted, “It is demonic and tendentiously wicked to steal in the name of the poor.”
Atiku’s aide underscored the necessity for the government to reform the humanitarian affairs ministry and other interventionist programs. He pointed out that the ongoing probe of the previous Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, for a N37 billion fraud further highlighted the urgency for immediate actions to overhaul the ministry.
