The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate suspension, investigation, and possible prosecution of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. The party accuses him of being involved in the alleged siphoning of N438 million poverty alleviation fund while Betta Edu was the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in charge of it.
According to the PDP, the Minister of Interior used a company in which he has a huge interest to siphon funds meant for poor Nigerians under the guise of consultancy fees for unsubstantiated verification of households in the country. The party described it as inexcusable that the two ministers directly entrusted with the wellbeing of Nigerians could allegedly engage in such fraudulent activities.
In a statement released by its spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP asked President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action to protect the resources meant for the wellbeing of poor Nigerians from further plundering. The party calls for the suspension of the Interior Minister over the alleged fraud and for him to be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation like his suspended counterpart.
The PDP challenges the Interior Minister to publish the details of the due process certification documents, the scope of the job, the experts and modules used, as well as particulars of the 11 million Nigerian households claimed to have been verified within a space of one month. The party alleges that the bulk of the money was diverted to private accounts of cronies of prominent APC leaders in the National Assembly and the Presidency.
The opposition party stated that the continued stay in office of Tunji-Ojo as Minister of Interior can only further confirm the PDP’s position that the Tinubu-led APC administration is a haven for treasury looters. The PDP asserts that the only way President Tinubu can reassure Nigerians is to immediately relieve the Minister of Interior and allow for an independent inquiry into the disbursement of the N438 million. The inquiry should expose and prosecute all those involved in the alleged scam and also recover the money for the well-being of Nigerians.