President Tinubu Urged To Probe Payment Of N585.2m Grant Into Private Account

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was on Sunday urged to direct the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to probe the alleged payment by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu of N585.2 million meant for disbursement to vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states into a private account.

The request came from a Lagos-based rights group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), through a statement issued by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare.

SERAP equally asked the President to direct the AGF and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly investigate whether the N585.2 million has been paid into any private account and to identify and publish the names of anyone who may have received the payment.

Referencing its letter dated January 6, 2024, SERAP, said, “Anyone suspected to be involved in any improper payment or diversion of public funds should be brought to justice and any diverted public funds returned to the public treasury and paid directly to the rightful beneficiaries.

“Paying public funds into private accounts may create the perception or appearance of impropriety and give cover to any potential wrongdoing or diversion.”

According to SERAP, “Investigating these allegations and ensuring that the public funds meant to take care of the poor are transparently and accountably spent and recovering any diverted public funds are serious and legitimate public interests.

“The public interests in safeguarding against the perception or appearance of impropriety or corruption also require your government to remove the opportunity for abuse inherent in the payment of public funds into private accounts.

“The Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s financial regulations and international obligations impose a fundamental obligation on your government to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds meant for socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.

“Your government has a legal responsibility to ensure full compliance with the Financial Regulations 2009, prohibiting the payment of public funds into private accounts, to reduce vulnerability to corruption or risks of the funds being diverted for personal ends or other unlawful purposes.”

While insisting that government officials hold positions of public trust, the group posited that “Public officials are expected to ensure compliance with Nigerian laws and international standards in the discharge of their public functions.”

SERAP expressed disinfection over what it describes as the persistent lack of transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds meant to take care of the poor, adding that the same raises issues of public trust, makes the funds vulnerable to corruption or mismanagement, and undermines the integrity of poverty intervention programmes.

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