Betta Edu is gone – Presidency says ousted minister won’t rejoin Tinubu’s cabinet

The Presidency has declared that the suspended minister Betta Edu no longer has a place in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, made this known during an interview on Channel Television‘s Sunday Politics on October 27, 2024.

Recall that Edu was enmeshed in a corruption allegation after a memo surfaced in January, wherein she asked Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation, to transfer N585 million to a private account.

She was later suspended by the President who also asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the financial transactions of the humanitarian ministry.

Following the suspension, Edu was grilled by the anti-graft commission at its headquarters in the nation’s capital.

Tinubu equally suspended Halima Shehu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Social Investment Programme Authority (NSIPA) following allegations of financial misappropriation in the ministry.

Subsequently, the President suspended all the programmes administered by the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) for six weeks, to allow a probe into the alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its activities.

In April, the EFCC announced that it recovered N30 billion following an investigation into the ministry’s activities, adding that 50 bank accounts were under probe.

Since her suspension, there have been calls from certain quarters for the President to reconsider and reinstate Edu.

Presidency says Edu is gone

However, Onanuga confirmed on Sunday that the Cross Rivers politician is no longer a minister given that her portfolio has been handed to one of the newly-appointment ministers.

“Betta Edu is gone. She was suspended in January, and this is October. She is gone. Her position has been taken over by somebody else… that is the man from Plateau state (Yilwatda).

“As far as this government is concerned, there is no longer a place for her in that cabinet,” he said.

Asked about the outcome of the EFCC investigation on Edu, Onanuga said the commission has yet to make the details public.

“The EFCC has not shared whatever they have, but if you go by what the president has done, it shows that maybe the EFCC has submitted something that actually justifies that suspension.

“If we follow what the president has done, it means EFCC has revealed something that has formed the basis of the president’s action,” the presidential spokesman added.