PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has formally dismissed Beta Edu, the minister of humanitarian affairs suspended in January for alleged corruption.
The President, on Wednesday, October 23, appointed Nentawe Yilwatda as her replacement.
Tinubu also announced Idi Mukhtar Maiha as the minister for a new Ministry of Livestock Development he created in July.
Edu’s Dismissal over corruption allegations
In a leaked letter, Edu instructed the accountant-general of the federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to pay N585 million into a private account managed by United Bank of Africa (UBA) and owned by Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.
While Edu, through her media aide, Rasheed Zubair, admitted the payment, she dismissed accusations of wrongdoing and labelled them as blackmail.
The ICIR reported that Edu said the fund was for the payment of grants to vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Lagos states.
She maintained that Mojisola was a legitimate project accountant for a programme (GVG) within the ministry’s finance department and that the payment followed due process.
However, her claim contradicts Nigeria’s Public Sector Financial Regulation Act of 2009, which governs disbursement of public funds.
The development led to widespread criticism, prompting Tinubu to suspend her on Monday, January 8.
Reacting to the minister’s action, Tinubu said his decision to suspend her was in line with his pledges and commitment to uphold integrity, transparency, and accountability in managing Nigerians’ commonwealth.
Tinubu also directed the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to thoroughly investigate all financial transactions involving the ministry and its agencies.
Although Edu, consequently presented herself to EFCC over her indictment in the alleged fraud on January 9, the government did not provide further update on the probe.
With Yilwatda’s appointment, Edu has been finally sacked, indicating that the government most-likely found her guilty of the accusations against her.
Farmers-herders crises and the appointment of new minister
Tinubu said the Ministry of Livestock Development would help address the escalating farmers-herders crisis in the country while announcing the ministry’s creation in July.
Farmer-herder crisis is one of Nigeria’s most complex and protracted problems, where most of the country’s security challenges had its roots.
The conflict has been particularly severe in the North, including Benue, Plateau and Taraba states. Hundreds of people have been killed in attacks linked to the crisis in the past decade, while tens of thousands were displaced.
The ICIR reported how the conflict claimed lives and destroyed means of livehoods and other valuables in Plateau, and Nasarawa states.
It has also had severe impact on food production as many crop farmers could no longer go to their farms, while herders have also faced difficulty rearing their cattle amid climate change crisis.
Despite efforts by the government to address the situation, including state-level anti-grazing laws and other interventions, the crisis appeared to have defied solutions.
The ICIR reported how Zambia, Gambia and South Africa suggested solution to the crisis, with the challenge further escalating under former President Muhammadu Buhari, a cattle farmer.
It has also continued under Tinubu, one year after he took over power.
There have been killings in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi and several other states with attendant deaths and disruption to crop and animal farming.
The call for a dedicated ministry to handle livestock development is not new. In 2020, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) urged the Federal Government to establish the ministry, citing the failure of a livestock department under the Ministry of Agriculture to effectively address the sector’s challenges.
The MACBAN’s national secretary, Othman Ngelzarma, said the ministry would help to confront and solve some of the sector’s challenges.
According to him, some of the challenges confronting the sector include cattle rustling, farmer-herder conflicts, kidnapping, banditry and neglect, especially concerning demarcation of grazing reserves.
The new minister, including others appointed with him on Wednesday by the President, will screened by the Senate at a later date.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M