Betta Edu, the recently suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, was blocked from accessing President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Monday, News About Nigeria reports.
The incident occurred hours after her suspension was officially announced.
Edu arrived at the Presidential Villa around 2:30 pm and proceeded directly to the President’s office.
While she was initially granted passage through the pilot gate and permitted to enter the main building, her access was abruptly restricted when she reached the gate leading to the president’s office.
Maintaining her composure, the suspended minister quietly left the scene after the security personnel stationed at the president’s office politely denied her entry.
The purpose of Edu’s visit to the Presidential Villa on Monday remains unclear, but speculation suggests it could be related to her recent suspension from office.
The suspended minister, Betta Edu, has faced public criticism for authorising the transfer of N585.2 million into the private bank account of a civil servant responsible for grants for vulnerable Nigerians.
The leaked memo, dated December 2023, revealed the minister’s directive to transfer the funds, a move that contradicts financial regulations designed to prevent fraud and corruption in government transactions.
In response to the allegations, Betta Edu insisted that the act is legal within the country’s civil service and claimed that she was being targeted for her anti-corruption stance.
However, financial regulations clearly state that public money should not be paid into a private account, and any officer doing so is deemed to have done it with fraudulent intent.
The suspended minister has been instructed to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry during the suspension period.
