Sadiya Umar-Farouq, Nigeria’s former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development appointed by Former President Buhari alleged to have stolen billion
More facts have emerged regarding how the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had between July and August 2023, intercepted N32billion, which was about to be stolen from the humanitarian affairs ministry. The money it was learnt was handed over to the Federal Government.
The total budgetary allocation to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation from 2020 to 2024, stood at N2.38trillion, according to data from the budget office. Recall that former President Buhari created the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on August 21, 2019.
President Bola Tinubu after taking over from Buhari on May 2023, renamed the agency as Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. Figures from the budget office showed that in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, the total allocations to the ministry and agencies under it were N453.3billion, N456.1billion, N507.9billion, N426billion and N532.5billion respectively.
The total allocation to the humanitarian ministry and its agencies in the 2020 appropriation bill was N453.27billion. From this sum, the ministry, National Emergency Management Agency, National Social Investment Office, North-East Development Commission, National Commission for Refugees, and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons got total allocations of N4.03billion, N1.24billion, N400billion, N38.1billion, N6.56billion and N3.34billion respectively.
The National Social Investment Office got the highest allocation of N400billion in 2020. The aata in the 2021 Appropriation Act showed that the total appropriation to the ministry and its agencies was N465.1billion.
Figures from the Act indicated that the ministry, NEMA, NSIO, NEDC, NCR, NAPTIP, National Commission for Persons with Disability, and Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals got total allocations of N3.9billion, N3.75billion, N400billion, N32.96billion, N14.1billion, N4.14billion, N1.8billion and N4.44billion, respectively.
The NSIO had the highest allocation of N400billion in 2021. In 2022, the total allocation appropriated to the ministry was N507.9billion. From this sum, the ministry itself, NEMA, NSIO, NEDC, NCR, NAPTIP, National Commission for Persons with Disability, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, and National Senior Citizens Centre got total allocations of N35.6bn, N3.3bn, N398.9bn, N41.78billion, N12.34billion, N3.34billion, N3.17billion, N8.78billion and N655.8million respectively. The NSIO’s N398.9billion allocation was the highest in 2022.
In 2023, the ministry and agencies under it got a total appropriation of N426billion and this was increased to N532.5billion in the 2024 budget. On December 13, 2023, The Punch reported that the suspended minister declared that the N532.5billion in the 2024 budget for her ministry was inadequate.
Edu stated this when she led officials of her ministry and parastatals to defend the 2024 budget before the Joint National Assembly Committee of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, chaired by Senator Idiat Adebule. She said the amount allocated to her ministry in the 2024 budget was not capable of fighting poverty across the country, stressing that her ministry was given an overhead ceiling of N532.5bn which represents a 28 per cent increase over the 2023 budget to cushion the effects of inflation.
Meanwhile, following the suspension of the minister, a civil society group, the United Global Resolve for Peace, has called for a comprehensive reformation of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. The group made this known in a statement by its President, Shalom Olaseni, on Monday, while commending the President for his decisiveness in suspending the embattled official.
The statement read, “The United Global Resolve for Peace applauds President Bola Tinubu for his decisive action in suspending Dr Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, in response to corruption scandals and controversies surrounding her tenure. The UGRFP acknowledges the President’s responsiveness to the cries from the civil society space and well-meaning Nigerians. This commendable move demonstrates a commitment to transparency, accountability, and the overall well-being of the nation.
“In line with our earlier call, we appreciate the President’s prompt establishment of a panel to reform the social programs of the Ministry. We further advocate for the extension of the panel’s mandate to comprehensively reform the entire humanitarian ministry. Such measures are essential to ensure the effectiveness and integrity of humanitarian efforts aimed at poverty alleviation and addressing societal needs.
