ADDITIONAL STATEMENT BY DEJI ADEYANJU ON BETTA EDU AND THE SCANDAL ROCKING THE MINISTRY OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
-Almost all ministers under the Tinubu government transferred money into private accounts & breach civil service laws, only Betta was caught.
-Permanent Secretary to Betta was also involved, he cannot be put incharge of the ministry
A few days ago, I issued a statement commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for swiftly suspending the Hon. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. Betta Edu, following the scandal that has become the hallmark of that ministry.
However, the subsequent pronouncement by the Presidency directing the Hon. Minister to hand over the affairs of the Ministry to the permanent secretary, has raised a haze of clouds in my eyes and doubts in my mind, hence this additional statement.
As we all know, the permanent secretary is not only the highest ranking civil servant in the ministry, but is also the chief financier officer of the ministry. In fact, the permanent secretary is the engine room of every ministry. While politicians come and go, the permanent secretary is always there until he or she resigns.
It is, therefore, highly unlikely that the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs was unaware of the corrupt practices that was going on in that ministry. The permanent secretary ranks only next to the Minister. How were these monies moved to private accounts without the knowledge of Mr. Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, the permanent secretary? Whose duty was it to bring the minister abreast with the various civil service rules aimed at prohibiting corrupt practices? Can the permanent secretary truly deny knowledge of the sleaze that went down in that ministry or is it a case of several person dipping their hands into the public purse but only the person who was caught is called the thief?
It is in the light of the foregoing that the decision by Mr. President to hand over the running of the ministry to the permanent secretary is, in my opinion, ill advised. For a holistic investigation to be carried out in that ministry, as directed by Mr. President, the permanent secretary and all the directors must equally be suspended, to determine their culpability if any, in what has become a national embarrassment.
The president is, therefore, urged to hand over the affairs of the ministry to any other permanent secretary in any other ministry, but not the present permanent secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
From my findings on this matter, all minister under the Tinubu government transferred monies into private accounts on the advice of civil servants mostly the permanent secretaries of their ministries. I have also come to find out that these civil servants deliberately get politicians and political appointees to contravene civil service laws so as to have something over their heads in order to perpetrate corruption unchallenged. The EFCC must investigate all ministries and not just Humanitarian alone.
Justice must not only be done in this case, but it must also be seen to be done.
SIGNED:
Comrade Deji Adeyanju
