The instruction for the payment is contained in a leaked letter dated December 20, 2023, in which Edu instructed the accountant-general to transfer the said sum to the bank account of one Oniyelu Mojisola.
The transfer contravenes various sections of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009, which are meant to prevent fraud and other forms of corruption.
Therefore, the group specifically wants the President to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly probe the alleged payment by Beta Edu, meant for disbursement to vulnerable people in Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states into a private account.
SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare also wants the president to direct Fagbemi and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to investigate and also identify and publish the names of anyone who may have received the money.
Meanwhile, the minister has denied any wrongdoing in a post on X, insisting that the payment followed due process.
It might interest you to know that Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Umar-Farouk, is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for alleged fraud.
