The fate of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo is hanging as a member of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, following the suspension of Beta Edu by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over an alleged N585 million fraud.
Edu was suspended on Monday by the president after Nigerians demanded her removal from office after a viral memo revealed that she advised the Accountant General of the Federation to pay the whopping sum to a private account.
Her action, according to analyst contradicts the country’s extant financial laws.
Following her suspension, Nigerians have demanded that other persons involved in the alleged scam be also dealt with.
It was on this basis that President Tinubu summoned Tunji-Ojo on Tuesday to Aso Rock, after the firm he co-owned with his wife was mentioned among other companies which allegedly received money from the embattled ministry.
The former lawmaker has exonerated himself from the scandal, insisting that he has resigned from the company, and no longer a director as being claimed in some quarters.
According to him, ”I am not a signatory to the company.
“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.
“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.”
The worry among those watching the development, is that the minister, one of the poster boys of the Tinubu’s administration could also be in the firing line as a result of the scam.
The question is: will the former House of Representative member from Ondo state be the next casualty of the Edugate?
Following his appointment by President Tinubu last August, the minister has embarked on what, some people described as cleaning the Augean stable of the Passport Office in the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS. To the credit of the minister, Nigerians no longer have to wait for months to obtain their international Passports.
Meanwhile, Edu was grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday to ascertain her role in the financial scandal.
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