Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, on Sunday, threatened to drag President Bola Tinubu to court if he fails to probe the alleged payment of N585,189,500.00 into a private account by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, stated this in a statement on Sunday.
The Minister had confirmed disbursing N585,189,500.00 meant for vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states into a private account.
But she insisted that the payment followed due process.
SERAP, however, said that the minister’s action was against Chapter 7, Section 713 of the Federal Government’s Financial Regulations 2009, which notes, ‘Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private account’.
SERAP, therefore, urged Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly conduct a probe.
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest,” the statement said.
Recall that the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, had said Edu was not supposed to make the payment of N585,198,500.00 into a private account.