The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has been invited by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to answer for the alleged involvement of his company, New Planet Projects, in a N438m contract scam uncovered in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The CCB has commenced an investigation into the alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers by the Minister.
According to the CCB, the company benefitted from an alleged contract scam from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
The embattled minister was asked to appear before the CCB on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at the CCB Headquarters, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.
A document signed by Gwimi S.P, the CCB Director, Investigation and Monitoring, on behalf of the CCB Chairman, Murtala Aliyu, revealed that the bureau’s invitation is hinged on its mandate and powers as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part 1, 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
The letter addressed to the Minister, read, “The bureau is investigating a case of alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in which your name featured prominently. Consequently, you are invited for an interview scheduled as follows:
“Date: Tuesday, 16th January, 2024. Time: 1100hrs prompt. Venue: CCB Headquarters on 5th Floor, Annex III, Phase I, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.
“This invitation is pursuant to the mandate and powers of the Bureau as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part I, Paragraph 3 (e) to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. Please be properly guided.”
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had earlier suspended all administered programmes by the national social investment programme agency (NSIPA).
On January 2, Tinubu suspended Halima Shehu as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NSIPA, over alleged financial malfeasance.
Also on January 8, the president suspended Betta Edu as minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation.
Edu’s 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.