On Monday, January 8, 2024, the President made my day by announcing Dr. Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, would be suspended.
In any case, this does not indicate that the Minister has been found guilty in the scandal involving the unlawful transfer of more than 585 million Naira from the public treasury to a personal account.
Before this development, I tried to have a conversation about the various press statements that have been attributed to Hajia Sadiya Umar Sadiq, the recently former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs; to Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the embattled recently former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; and to Boss Mustapha, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, all of whom have denied any allegations of corruption against them while they were in positions of authority.
In the last two editions of this column, I set out to accomplish that goal, but due to other pressing matters like the passing of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the recent haughty demeanor of certain public officials, I was unable to fulfill that goal.
However, as God is gracious, I had no idea that Bettagate would soon make her public, which would have reinforced the argument I wished to convey in that first edition. The discussion surrounding the press releases from the various state players described above will, in some way, be further pushed to the background because I am more concerned with the problems plaguing the federal government’s social investment programs. The program’s main goals are to support the nation’s most vulnerable citizens and offer social security. It all began under the previous government of Nigeria, which was led by the infamously inept President, who imposed the same policies without providing a safety net.
I had never thought that the concept would work as well as it does now, even from the beginning. I remember that I had spoken to Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, SAN, the vice president at the time, when the plan was first introduced and domiciliated, to voice my concerns about it. My opinion at the time was that it would be better to invest the money in economically significant projects rather than engaging in cash transfers that have no real influence on people’s lives or productivity—otherwise, it would just be a waste of money.
I remember suggesting that if the entire amount had been used to develop agro-industries, which would have given some people permanent jobs, a sizable portion of Nigerians would have automatically benefited from a far stronger social insurance system.
In addition to increasing production, a significant investment will provide tangible results. Sadly, the government did not find this counsel to be well-received, and the scheme—with all of its flaws—continued.
As time went on, the plan came to light as a corrupt quagmire that was the subject of numerous allegations. First, to the best of my knowledge, no legitimate household survey was carried out to create a social register, therefore there was not a valid one in place.
As usual, the untrustworthy data that was available was pieced together haphazardly to create what was supposedly approved by the indolent consultants of the global financial institution acting as supervisors, all the while serving to further their own selfish agendas. Back then, social interaction was defined as only combining the names of friends, relatives, coworkers, and some community members.
Remember that numerous civil society organizations, as well as individuals like me, have requested on multiple times to have access to not just the social register for audit and verification.
Throughout Buhari’s presidency, we also continuously demanded the publication of the lists of social investment scheme beneficiaries, but none were given. Up until this point, the entire project has been veiled in secrecy. I recall that at one point, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when schools were shuttered, students were reportedly fed with enormous quantities totaling billions of Naira. The former president did not even blink in response to any of the attempts to identify the beneficiary schools and pupils. In this way, billions were disappearing in the absence of accountability and transparency, but President Buhari didn’t seem to care. Farouq Kperogi’s description of that period of deception is the most accurate.
“All that happened during Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year reign was unstrained, stratospheric, eye-watering corruption the scale of which Nigeria had never experienced. It was a raucous, brazen, cheerfully irresponsible kleptocratic bazaar. While happened, governance took the backseat, leading me to characterize Buhari’s reign as the era of ‘ungovernance’.”
I wholeheartedly concur with the accurate portrayal of the holocaust of governance. Even if I try not to think about the past, things are not looking bright with the presence up until the recent presidential intervention. Oju ti o ba maa ba’ni d’ale, ko ni ti aaro ma se ipin, as the Yoruba would say, essentially means the beginning foretells the end. Given the early indications we are already seeing under the suspended Minister, the future for the same Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is undoubtedly not bright.
Originally, the Ministry was accused of releasing an astounding amount of money that is unaccounted for under the guise of verifying the social register through a household survey of more than 11 million people in less than a month. Since there was nothing strange about that, I didn’t give it much thought until I learned recently that a government official’s personal account had received a staggering amount of money—more than 585 million naira—that had been transferred from the public treasury.
My assumption was that the Minister would refute the accusation, but surprisingly, Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair, Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Publicity, her assistant, chose to go on a defense that unmistakably supported the accusation instead of doing so.
As I read the various reactions from the Minister through her aide and that of the Social Investment Management office through another subordinate of the Minister, I cannot but marvel that truly, wonders shall never end in Nigeria.
The initial reaction of the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Publicity was that the Minister was being persecuted by those criminals she unveiled, simply, a case of corruption fighting back being made.
In a contradictory manner, a day after, however, the release from the office of the Social Investment Management stated otherwise. Who is then to be believed? As conventional, once a lie is told, you need several others to sustain the trigger. This is the situation the Minister found herself. In fact, at a point, the suspended Minister had alluded to the fact that the Accountant General’s office was aware and approved the transaction, just for the Accountant General to denounce the story as she did not only confirm the impropriety of such transfer of public fund into a private account, she also revealed the truth that once quarterly disbursement is released to the Ministries, the Accountant General has nothing to do with expenditures.
Obviously, both the Minister and her aides seemed to be oblivious of the Financial Regulations of the federal government in taking the wrong step under investigation and in attempting to exculpate the Minister from the allegation. The extant Financial Regulations confers the power to initiate and superintend financial release on the Chief Accounting Officers of the MDAs, usually the Permanent Secretary.
The essence of this arrangement is to insulate the political office holders from financial transactions that might divert their attention from the ultimate purpose of their appointment and put them in trouble when allegations of financial malfeasance start flying in their Ministries.
By Chapter 7, Section 713 of the said Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009, mixture of public and private funds is forbidden by anyone in the public service. In fact, it specifically prohibits private funds from being moved into public treasury and public funds from being moved into any private accounts.
To underscore the gravity of contravention, the Regulation further provides that “Any officer who pays public money into a private account is deemed to have done so with a fraudulent intention’.
From the account given by the Minister via her aide, the sum was meant for the vulnerable in the four states of Lagos, Cross River, Ogun and Akwa Ibom States. The said amount of N585, 189,500.00, payable from the National Social Investment account number 0020208461037 was so transferred into the personal account of one Onyelu Bridget, in United Bank for Africa. The claim is that the said Bridget is the project accountant for GVG. The usual excuse is that some detractors are at work as Africans are never in short supply of enemies when they are caught in flagrante delicto. Their enemies must be blamed for their misdemeanour as no Nigerian or African blames himself when he is short of public expectations.
If this wrong payment was done as a result of ignorance of the Financial Regulations on the part of the Minister, it is the position of the law that ignorance is no excuse in law that would work against her. In the light of the above, there is no doubt that the transfer involved is illegal and therefore fraudulent.
The implication of this is that the Minister has no defense to this. To worsen her situation, the Accountant General of the Federation denounced the transaction and indeed categorically pronounced such transfer as illegal. It is expected that she ought to have a source of legal advice when taking major decisions if she is not legally educated herself. Until proven guilty, however, the law still presumes the suspended Minister innocent assuming the case were to go before the court.
Unfortunately, this presumption might not assist the Minister when political considerations are involved and the executive is required to take a decision to put the government in the good books of the sneering public, a misinformed section of which has not forgiven the President for winning the election that brought him into office.
No matter the ignorance or good intention of the Minister, the presumption of corruption in the provision of the Financial Regulations is not looking good on her.
Notwithstanding her supposed good intention, on the other hand, such might be difficult to prove as one adage says the devil himself knoweth the mind of man and another adage says the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
In both situations, the case is damning for the suspended Minister. Beyond even the law, how morally and pragmatically defensible is it for an individual to hold on behalf of all the entitled vulnerable the total sum that is meant to reduce their suffering? Is that transparent or accountable? Certainly not. The need to maintain accountability and probity before the doubting Thomases that the Nigerian public has become has made the President to act swiftly in making the press release by which the Minister was suspended. I verily hope that our public officers shall give good accounts of themselves in all situations henceforth.
As I opined above, the occurrences and the unfolding revelations in the expenditure of the social investment fund is confirming largely the fears that most of us have.
Now that there is so much hunger in the land and the prices of foodstuffs are escalating with nobody’s fault, I believe this fund that is becoming slush fund, should be converted into intervention fund for the provision of logistics and storage for food items to reduce escalating cost of food prices.
In the same vein, there is scarcity of drugs in the country, either by way of non-availability or unaffordability. Nigerians are equally dying in droves due to this. All these palliatives fund need to be appropriately channeled in these directions. These are the basic needs of Nigerians currently. I am aware that the President also has directed the overhaul of the processes of administering the social investment fund, which clearly demonstrates that the President is aware of the irregularities and loopholes in the course of administering the fund. I honestly still believe that it is not the right way to go.
As previously mentioned, any surplus funds have to be directed toward the creation of businesses that can create jobs. Children and family members of the vulnerable will look after their vulnerable loved ones if they have a paying job.
Let me conclude by saying that, based on my experience, what has occurred is not unusual in the public sector. Unused funds in the ministries’ and agencies’ accounts are removed and stashed away until the end of the fiscal year, when they will be retired and reconciled. This seems to represent what transpired recently in the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Humanitarian Affairs, in my opinion.
In light of this, it may be appropriate for the President and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate all relevant Ministries and agencies. During that time, a great deal of extravagant spending occurred only for the purpose of embezzling public funds for which they serve as trustees and custodians.
The Yoruba say, “Yin ni, yin ni, ka le se miran,” therefore I must praise the President on this before we terminate our talk. Praise for good behavior is what motivates others to replicate it. Such actions will boost the administration’s credibility.
Let me also praise the EFCC Chairman, although I wasn’t sure he had complete control over his actions.
The fact that my brother has not yet been able to refute any of the President’s referrals indicates that the President believes in him. I hope he can successfully negotiate Nigeria’s choppy corruption waters and uphold the trust.
The only thing we have right now is to effectively combat corruption since the country is in collapse.
