The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has denied personally benefiting through his company – New Planet Project Limited – the sum of N438.1 million from the alleged fake N3 billion social register contract by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, under Dr. Betta Edu.
Even as more revelations emerge about who allegedly got what from the controversial contracts, the scandal has shown no sign of abating. Instead, it spread like wildfire in the harmattan, with more people getting sucked in.
But President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, yielded to the recommendations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and suspended Edu with immediate effect, following alleged financial impropriety in her ministry.
Edu’s predecessor in office, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, was on Monday grilled by EFCC over an alleged N37.1 billion fraud while she held sway as minister.
The presidency said Tinubu’s directive is in line with his avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians.
According to a statement by Tinubu’s media adviser Ajuri Ngelale, the president further directed the chairman of EFCC to conduct a thorough investigation into all financial transactions involving Edu’s ministry as well as agencies under it.
Tinubu also tasked the investigating panel headed by Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to, among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes. The president said this was to conclusively reform the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.
While the directives by the president took immediate effect, Edu was denied access to Tinubu at State House, Abuja, on Monday afternoon, and her access pass was taken back from her by State House security.
However, contrary to reports that Tunji-Ojo benefited from Edu’s alleged fake N3 billion social register contract, the interior minister has insisted that he resigned as a director at the company nearly five years ago.
New Planet Project Limited, with registration number 804833, was registered on March 3, 2009.
A Certified True Copy of the Corporate Affairs Commission dated August 8, revealed that the minister had alongside four others, resigned as directors on February 1, 2019.
The document titled Form CAC 7A, contained the names and addresses of the old directors as well as the new ones.
Section A contained names of “directors ceasing to hold office” from February 1, 2019. They included Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Abimbola Tunji-Ojo, Okpanachi George Echiye, Idris Shuaibu, and Hassan Suleiman.
Section B, on the other hand, contained names of newly appointed directors, which included Otegbeye Olabanji Oladapo and Anne Adeiza Bello.
The column for directors of the company from the date of the notice showed Akinmulewo Amos Oladapo, Otegbeye Olabanji Oladapo, and Anne Adeiza Bello, as directors.
The document was signed by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and Akinmulewo Amos Oladapo as Director and Director/Secretary/Authorised officer, respectively.
The document was further presented for filing at the CAC by one Abu Dennis, on February 6, 2019.