Suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, defied President Bola Tinubu’s directive to hand over to the Permanent Secretary on Monday evening, Politics Nigeria has learned.
Barely minutes after the official announcement of her suspension, which carried a clear instruction to hand over and “fully cooperate with investigating authorities,” it has been observed that no immediate handover activity has taken place at the ministry.
Instead, staff confirmed that Dr. Edu left the office shortly after receiving the suspension letter delivered by a State House official. It is also learnt that all security and protocol personnel assigned to her were also recalled, following standard procedure.
However, questions arose about the official handover as an unnamed Ministry official familiar with public service operations said the Permanent Secretary requires an official memo, not just a media report, to act on a suspension directive.
Efforts to reach the Permanent Secretary, located on the 5th floor of Phase 1 in the Federal Secretariat, proved unsuccessful, Nigerian Tribune reports. His personnel stated he was busy and unavailable for comment. When informed of the official suspension letter, they emphasised the need for due process, saying, “The Perm Sec has not seen the letter. He’s a man of due process.”
