A rights group, Concerned Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Awareness Forum has warned the sacked Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Beta Edu to stop blackmailing the Federal Government.
Dr. Beta Edu was sacked by the Tinubu adminstration barely 6 months in office following high profile cases of corruption running into billions of naira and other unwholesome acts including nepotism and lopsided appointments at the Ministry while she held sway.
In a strongly worded press release in response to a purportedly sponsored newspaper publication seeking to elicit emotional sympathy from Nigerians, the Chairman of the group, Mallam Auwal Dalori maintained that there was nothing spectacular about Dr. Beta Edu’s days in office as the little she did was budgeted for and not her personal resources.
According to the release, “we are dismayed with a sponsored newspaper publication allegedly emanating from our members in Borno and Niger states seeking the reinstatement of Dr. Beta Edu who was obviously insensitive to our plight as she pursued the sole agenda of self enrichment and aggrandizement.
“It is not possible for any IDP to call for her reinstatement bearing in mind her antecedents except they’re paid to do so as we suspect. In fact, it is possible that the whole publication was done without the consent and knowledge of our brothers and sisters in states mentioned.
“As a matter of fact, anybody who claims to have enjoyed ‘a new lease of life’ under the fantastically corrupt stewardship of Dr. Beta Edu deserves a psychiatric examination as nothing was done for poor Nigerians commensurate to the budgetary allocation to the Ministry.
The group denounced the words of one Usman Mungonu, a supposed IDP in Muna Camp, Borno State, who described Dr. Beta Edu’s time in office as a reassuring commitment to upholding the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, calling it a mere gimmick concoted to deceive the public.
“There was nothing reassuring about Dr. Beta Edu’s tenure in office. She never showed any concern about the plight of IDPs aside the fake facade at government sponsored events. How could anybody be fooled by this charade when all she was concerned about was to accumulate enough money for her political ambition in Cross River State?
“To say she exuded empathy, love, and care for vulnerable Nigerians is a slap on our collective vulnerability. Her presence at IDP camps and other events was simply a matter of necessity and not because she cared. Someone who cares for you cannot embezzle funds meant for your welfare as she did severally. The era of lies and half truths must end”, the release stated.
The rights group however acknowledged the vacuum created by the suspension of Dr. Beta Edu and it’s implication for poverty alleviation and humanitarian services but urged Mr. President not to even contemplate reappointing the sacked Minister as she has nothing to offer Nigerians.
“No doubt, the continued vacancy at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is having a toll on us in our various camps across the country. The fact that the first few months of the Tinubu adminstration were wasted with the appointment of the self serving Minister compounds our problems.
“We therefore urge Mr. President to appoint a true humanitarian and philanthropist who will genuinely attend to our needs even beyond the confines of state budgets with dedication and love. Those calling for the reinstatement of Beta Edu are enemies of our community and Nigeria. They must not be taken seriously”, and any attempt to reconsider her for any appointment will destroy the long outstanding history of the fight against corruption at any rate the release ended.
