It has been reported that the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, did not comply with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to hand over to the Permanent Secretary on Monday evening.
After the official announcement of her suspension, which included an instruction to hand over and cooperate with investigating authorities, there was no immediate handover activity observed at the ministry. Instead, it was confirmed that Dr. Edu left the office soon after receiving the suspension letter from a State House official. All security and protocol personnel assigned to her were also recalled following standard procedure.
There have been questions about the official handover, as a Ministry official familiar with public service operations said that the Permanent Secretary requires an official memo, not just a media report, to act on a suspension directive.
Efforts to reach the Permanent Secretary, located on the 5th floor of Phase 1 in the Federal Secretariat, have been unsuccessful, according to Nigerian Tribune reports. His personnel stated that he was busy and unavailable for comment. When informed of the official suspension letter, they emphasized the need for due process, saying, “The Perm Sec has not seen the letter. He’s a man of due process.”