Politics
PROMINENT civil rights advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked Nigerians to remain consistently and persistently vigilant and monitor closely the affairs of government if we must experience good governance in our lifetime just as the Rights group said it has been told by a top official of the current administration in Abuja that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has come under massive pressure by the governors of All Progressives Congress and some top national Assembly lawmakers to reinstate the disgraced and suspended minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
HURIWA recalled that last month, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ms.Betta Edu, was suspended from office by President Bola Tinubu following public outrage over the disclosure that she authorised the payment of N585.2 million public funds into a private account in violation of financial transparency laws.
Besides, HURIWA has prevailed on President Tinubu to take action regarding the suspended minister one way or the other instead of letting the case linger almost ad infinitum just as the Rights group cautioned that recalling the suspended minister without any kind of administrative sanctions will show that President Tinubu accomodates and nurture corruption and abuse of power, a position that runs contrary to section 15(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended which states that the government shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. “President
Tinubu must be made aware that this scandalous case of Miss Betta Edu is a litmus test for determining if the current administration is committed towards anti-graft fight or simply playing to the gallery.”
The Rights group in a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko accused the Presidency of simply waiting for the very time that Nigerians would have totally forgotten about the allegations against the suspended minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation before reinstating her back to her juicy portfolio, an action that HURIWA believes violates the constitutional oath of office administered on President Tinubu upon assumption of office which frowns absolutely on the President allowing partisan consideration to becloud his constitutional obligations and thereby occasioning comflict of interests.
HURIWA has suggested that the Federal Government should investigate the claim that the illegality of payment of public funds into private accounts is a peculiar crime that is prevalent across several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). At least N159.6 billion (N159,626,619,959) was paid into private accounts by MDAs in six years, a review of data published by Govspend, a platform tracking government spending, show.
The findings do not exonerate Ms Edu but show that the problem is not peculiar to her and is widespread within the Nigerian government. The Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta tops the list of MDAs making such controversial payments with a total payment of N8.3 billion in 130 transactions to Ebikabowei Victor-Ben, an ex-Niger Delta militant.
The Nigerian office of the New Partnership for African Development, a pan-African poverty-eradication programme funded by member states, comes next having paid N1.5 billion in 111 tranches to one Afangekung Mfon Okon.
Other MDAs that made multiple transactions into private accounts include the Ministry of Information and Culture, Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Women Affairs, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Over N13bn public funds paid into private accounts in 2023
Last year, more than N13.6 billion was paid into private accounts in violation of the country’s Financial Regulations 2009.
The Rights group noted that violators include the Office of the SGF, Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and many parastatals even as the Rights group condemned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for also committing similar financial infractions when by law that created it, the anti-graft commission like Ceaser’s wife should live above board.
“HURIWA wants the President to constitute a judicial commission of inquiry to recommend the best way to bring all the culprits who are alleged to have made payments of public funds into private handsto effective, swift and decusive prosecution and recommend those guilty of the offence to the office of the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice for prosecution.
HURIWA said on no account should the president pardon the suspended minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on the baseless ground that the offence is prevalent in many ministerial agencies of the Federal government but what is needed is a clean sweep of all the guilty persons out of the bureaucracy of Federal government.
HURIWA is also worried that the matter involving the suspended minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is about to be swept under the carpet given that Nigerians appear to have moved on and have gradually forgotten about the messy Affairs in the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry whereby the EFCC just told the World that it has recovered N30 billon diverted to private accounts.
***Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, National Coordinator of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA). February 7th 2024.
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-February 7, 2024 @ 17:25 GMT|
Tags: Beta Edu Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko Ebikabowei Victor-Ben HURIWA President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
