The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has denied any involvement in the controversial N438 million contract scandal involving the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
A leaked memo being circulated online showed that a company linked to Mr Tunji-Ojo, New Planet Project Limited, received a substantial sum labeled as ‘consultancy fees’ from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Addressing the issues in an interview on Channels TV, Mr Tunji-Ojo refuted the allegations and dismissed his involvement in the company’s operations.
He also presented a document he claimed was a certified copy from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), adding that he resigned from the company five years ago.
“I am not a signatory to the company,” he said.
“And actually, I was shocked because the company in question was a company where I was a director. About five years ago, I had resigned from my directorship.”
The minister admitted that he co-founded the company with his wife 15 years ago but resigned as a director in 2019 upon winning a seat in the House of Representatives.
However, he remained a shareholder in the company.
“Of course, to the best of my knowledge, public service rules do not prohibit public officers from being shareholders. What public service rules say is that you cannot be a director of which I had resigned about five years ago,” he said.
Earlier in the week, Mrs Edu was suspended by President Bola Tinubu for alleged diversion of over N585 million to a private account.
Some Nigerians on social media have also called for the interior minister’s resignation, citing issues of conflict of interest and abuse of public office.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: Humanitarian Ministry Scandal: Tinubu suspends Betta Edu
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported the scandal including the approval of payment of hundreds of millions of naira into private accounts of civil servants.
Mrs Edu came under criticism from Nigerians for ordering the transfer of N585.2 million into the private bank account of a civil servant, who is the accountant in charge of grants for vulnerable Nigerians.
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