Daniel Bwala, a media aide to Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, has pointed out a distinction between President Bola Tinubu and his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Bwala, unlike Buhari, Tinubu is not inclined to defend his appointees when they are implicated in fraudulent activities. He lauded Tinubu for taking decisive action by suspending the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, over alleged financial fraud.
Leaked documents had revealed that Edu instructed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to transfer N585.18 million into a private account owned by Oniyelu Bridget. The ministry claimed that Bridget served as the Project Accountant for Grants for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states. However, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, rejected Edu’s directive and refused to make the payment.
In response to the scandal, Tinubu suspended the minister and directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct a thorough investigation. Bwala, in his X post, commended Tinubu for his actions, stating that Tinubu does not seem inclined to shield appointees caught in wrongdoing, at least for the time being.
Bwala emphasized that if corruption allegations are not limited to the Humanitarian Ministry, there is a serious national security threat posed by corrupt officials seizing public resources.