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By Chinelo Obogo
Transparency Network has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to release the report of its investigations into the allegations that rocked the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in 2024 leading to the exit of Dr. Betta Edu and other senior officials of the government.
The coordinator, Imman Onyi, said in a statement on Sunday that the lack of report from the investigations nearly two years after the alleged scandal broke has left a cloud of suspicion over many other career civil servants and politicians who it claimed suffered collateral damage on account of the scandal.
“It’s unfortunate that nearly two years after this saga came to light that the report of the investigations is yet to be made public. We do not believe that the EFCC with its capacity and the evidence made available to it during the investigation has not come to a conclusion on the culpability of the real perpetrators.
“The continued delay puts a cloud on many individuals who were initially fingered but who have not been formally exonerated following the investigations. This does not give confidence to the anti-corruption fight of the government and it is on this basis that we call on the EFCC to immediately bring the report of its investigations to light so that the country can get a bearing on those who were directly responsible for the alleged scandal.
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“We are particularly conscious of the former executive secretary of the NSIPA, Halima Shehu and her subordinates whose cases have remained hanging in the face of the dithering procrastination of the EFCC in presenting its report on the alleged scandal,” Onyi said.
Dr. Edu was removed as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2024 over allegations of misappropriation of public funds.
This followed a leaked memo where she allegedly directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to transfer funds into a private bank account belonging to a government official, purportedly for grants to vulnerable groups.
This directive violated Nigeria’s financial regulations, which strictly prohibit such payments into private accounts.
