The federation’s accountant general, Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein, received an order from Betta Edu, the minister of humanitarian affairs, instructing him to transfer N585 million to a certain person’s bank account. This order has incited uproar.
TheCable was able to view a leaked letter dated December 20, 2023 that contained the payment instructions.
“Mandate for Payment of Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos and Ogun States Respectively” was the title of the letter, which had the minister’s signature.
Edu gave the accountant general instructions in the letter to deposit N585,189,500 into Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola’s UBA account.
The document said that N73,828,750 was allocated for Cross River state, N219,462,250 for Lagos state, and N72,468,750 for Ogun state. N219,429,750 was designated as the “2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups in Akwa Ibom state.”
The national investment office’s account should be used to make the payment, according to the minister.
“The payment of the whole amount of N585,189,500 is now approved. The letter states, “These are payments for programs and activities of the Renewed Hope grant for Vulnerable Groups.”
“This payment should be made to the project accountant’s details listed above from the National Social Investment Office account, which has account number 0020208461037.”
The letter has elicited varied reactions on social media as many Nigerians questioned the rationale behind the minister’s instruction of transferring the funds to a private bank account.