The suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, has reportedly defied Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to hand over responsibilities to the Permanent Secretary.
Minutes after the official announcement of her suspension, which explicitly instructed her to handover and “fully cooperate with investigating authorities,” no immediate handover activity has been observed at the ministry.
Staff members confirmed that Dr. Edu left the office shortly after receiving the suspension letter delivered by a State House official. Simultaneously, all security and protocol personnel assigned to her were recalled, adhering to standard procedure.
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The absence of an official handover has raised questions, with an unnamed Ministry official familiar with public service operations stating that the Permanent Secretary requires an official memo, not just a media report, to act on a suspension directive.
Efforts to reach the Permanent Secretary, situated on the 5th floor of Phase 1 in the Federal Secretariat, were unsuccessful, as reported by the Nigerian Tribune. His personnel stated he was busy and unavailable for comment, emphasizing the need for due process, noting, “The Perm Sec has not seen the letter. He’s a man of due process.”
(Newsdesk)