The minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, Betta Edu, has confirmed making a request to the accountant general of the federation to send public funds to a private account.
The minister, in a letter dated December 20, 2023, instructed the accountant general to make the payment of N585 million into the private account of Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.
According to the viral letter, the minister said the money was for the payment of grants for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun States.
Meanwhile, the development generated outrage as many Nigerians wondered why such a huge amount of public funds would be paid to individual account.
It was also gathered that such acts breached the 2009 public sector financial regulations.
“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,” the regulation said.
But a statement issued by the minister’s aide, Rasheed Zubair, said the payment followed due process.
While justifying the payment into an individual account, Mr Zubair said Mrs Oyebule was a staff member of the ministry and the Project Accountant of Grants for Vulnerable Groups, CVG.
“For the avoidance, the said N585 million 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”, the statement partly reads.
Meanwhile, sources within the ministry attributed the crisis currently rocking the ministry to the acrimony between the minister and the suspended national coordinator of the NSIPA, Halima Shehu.
The source who fingered Mrs Edu for being responsible for the ordeals of Mrs Shehu said the latter never enjoyed the support of the former.
He, however, appealed to President Bola Tinubu personally to intervene in the crisis before tarnishing the social investment programmes of the current administration.
