Amid the widening spectres of biting economic hardships and unprecedented inflationary trends, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been asked by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) to advertise the vacant position of minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty alleviation and appoint a substantive minister immediately.

In a media statement on Monday by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA decried the tardiness and the unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks that have delayed the sacking of the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ms. Betta Edu.

The rights group said the delay to do the needful and get the humanitarian sector buffeted by administrative corruption and alleged misappropriation to restart the work of reaching out to the millions of multidimensionally poor households, is unacceptablejust as any further delay could threaten National Security due to the ever expanding economic hardships afflicting more and more households in Nigeria.

“We in the organised Civil Rights Community are shocked that it has taken the EFCC too long to reach a determination one way or the other regarding the alleged massive corruption in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. The decision not to dismiss the suspended minister even when the EFCC has reportedly recovered humongous amount of public funds allegedly diverted and stashed in private accounts belonging to the ministry, is a demonstration that the Federal Government is callously insensitive to the increasing rates of economic hardships, absolute hunger and deadly poverty that are spreading right now like wildfires and have engulfed millions of households due to poor economic policies of the current government.”

HURIWA is urging the President to sack Ms. Betta Edu and to immediately advertise her position to be filled by an expert who has no connection to any political party but is a citizen of Nigeria residing in part of the World and who has and knows what it takes to transparently ensure that economic relief packages get to the right people of Nigeria who are vulnerable and absolutely poor.

HURIWA said it is disappointing that investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into alleged N100 billion fraud in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and another reported N17 billion malfeasance in the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), has yet to be completed and indicted officials charged. The Rights group said the report that the suspended conditional cash transfer programme is resuming even when there is no certainty in the humanitarian affairs sector, is inappropriate and this wishy-washy approach to such a very important assignment of this administration is absolutely condemnable.

HURIWA which admitted that withthe rising cost of living, hunger protests, and free fall of the Naira, among others, the programme is billed to alleviate the sufferings of millions of vulnerable households, especially those slipping below the poverty line nationwide but only when a substantive minister is appointed immediately just as the idea of carrying out these key assignmentsby a mere panel constituted by the President portends serious danger.

HURIWA recalled that the sheme and similar interventions run by the NSIPA were January this year suspended by President Tinubu following above alleged financial fraud even as report says a Special Presidential Panel, headed by Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Minister of State for Youth was tasked with the responsibility of restoring public confidence in all federal poverty intervention programmes under the NSIPA.

HURIWA recalled that a media statement by presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, explained that the committee is to immediately undertake a comprehensive review and audit of existing financial frameworks and policy guidelines of the NSIPA with a view to implementing a total re-engineering of the financial architecture of the programmes with detailed modification to procedures guiding their implementation.

The statement stated further that: “President Tinubu anticipates that this Special Presidential Panel will validate the confidence reposed in it by winning back all lost public confidence in these vital programmes over the years, by ushering in a new era of operation based on open and accountable governance frameworks that will prove impervious to abuse and incompetence for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households across our nation,” the statement reads in part.

HURIWA however dismissed the approach of not appointing a substantive minister to take over from the suspended minister, as tardy and substandard, further recalled that since January 2, Tinubu suspended Halima Shehu as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NSIPA, over alleged financial malfeasance and then on January 8, the president suspended Betta Edu as minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation. But HURIWA lamented that it has taken a very long time for the President to take a decision and appoint a fresh person who is an expert in the field of humanitarian affairs and who is not a politician but a technocrat to assume office as minister immediately.

HURIWA recalled that Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation ministry supervises NSIPA and has come under scrutiny after a memo surfaced wherein she asked Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation, to transfer the sum of N585 million to a private account.

According to a statement on it recently by Segun Imohiosen, director of information at the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), the suspension is part of the ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.

“All four (4) Programmes administered by NSIPA, viz; N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme have been suspended for a period of six (6) weeks in the first instance,” the statement reads.