By Chimaobi Afiauwa, Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing criticism against the incumbent government, urging President Bola Tinubu to undertake a comprehensive reform of the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry, branding it an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and Point of Sales (POS) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to exploit public funds.
In a statement released by his Special Assistant, Public Communication, Frank Shaibu, Atiku expressed deep concern, pointing to the ongoing probe of the former Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, over alleged N37 billion fraud, saying it underscores the pressing need for immediate and decisive actions to overhaul the ministry.
He said, “There is a need for the government to reform the humanitarian affairs ministry and other interventionist programmes that had become an ATM and POS for those in power.”
MUK TV reports that since the inception of the ministry, which was created by former President Muhammadu Buhari to oversee social investment programs and alleviate poverty in the country, two of the successive ministry’s ministers have been stenched in corruption allegations.
The statement stressed the urgency of addressing systemic corruption within the ministry, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 lockdown, where questionable practices, such as the implementation of the school feeding program, continued.
“Even during the COVID-19 lockdown, Farouq continued to implement the school feeding programme. She ridiculously claimed that the food would be delivered to the students at home since schools were shut.
“Today, Betta Edu claims that over three million households got N20,000 each during the Yuletide. Sadly, there is no evidence of millions of Nigerians getting such money. This shows that money has just been going into private pockets.”
He further raised skepticism regarding the distribution of funds, citing the recent claims by Betta Edu that over three million households received N20,000 each during the Yuletide.
Atiku pointed out the lack of evidence for such widespread financial disbursements, suggesting a diversion of funds into private hands.
“Today, Betta Edu claims that over three million households got N20,000 each during the Yuletide. Sadly, there is no evidence of millions of Nigerians getting such money. This shows that money has just been going into private pockets.
“The scandal that we are contending with is not about Betta Edu, nor about Halima Shehu, or any other person for that matter.
“It is about a problem of systemic corruption through which the APC continues to bleed the treasury, ironically, asphyxiating the poor and vulnerable segment of the country, all in the name of caring for them,” he added.
Atiku’s statement contends that the prevailing scandal extends beyond individuals like Betta Edu and Halima Shehu, emphasizing that it reveals a systemic problem of corruption within the APC.
The party, according to Atiku, manipulates poverty and hunger as tools to control vulnerable masses, exacerbating the plight of the impoverished while exploiting these circumstances for official corruption.
“It is about a problem of systemic corruption through which the APC continues to bleed the treasury, ironically, asphyxiating the poor and vulnerable segment of the country, all in the name of caring for them.
“The APC has weaponised poverty and hunger to control the minds of the vulnerable masses, and it is even worse that they have devised a method to use poverty as an instrument of official corruption,” the statement concluded.
