The Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, has formally taken over the affairs of the Ministry in compliance with the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the probe trailing the alleged payment of public funds into private accounts leveled against the suspended Minister, Betta Edu.
Tribune Online authoritatively gathered that the letter was handed over to Mr. Enitan by one of the staff from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (oSGF) on Monday night.
One of the officials of the Permanent Secretary who spoke with Tribune Online under anonymity, confirmed that the letter was delivered to him, however said that the Permanent Secretary is the one in the best position to give an update on the development.
When informed of the need to get the views of the Permanent Secretary in person, he said: “You know in civil service there’s no vacuum.
“And just like you are all aware, the President directed that the perm sec should oversee the affairs of the Ministry.
“So, the right person to talk to you is actually the Permanent Secretary. But he went out for a meeting now.
“But what I will do is, I will collect your number, when he comes back I’ll call you to repeat your visit.”
But when informed that we visited the Permanent Secretary on Monday and were told that the Permanent Secretary was busy, the official said: “he was in a meeting yesterday.
“But in terms of communicating to the Perm Sec, the Presidency has done that.
“He has been duly informed to take over.”
Recall that Mr. President through his Special Adviser, Media & Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale had directed the suspended Minister to “hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and she is further directed by the President to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as they conduct their investigation.
“Furthermore, the President has tasked a panel that is headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes with a view to conclusively reforming the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.”
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