By Funso Alarape
Thursday January 11, 2024
Please, share the story.
The Arewa Consultative Movement (ACM), a Northern socio-cultural group, has urged President Bola Tinubu to suspend the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, over his alleged link to a fraud perpetrated at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The ACM led by its National Coordinator, Comrade Bilal Galadima, made the call on Wednesday in Kaduna.
The Arewa group threatened to mobilize for protest in Kaduna and Abuja if Tinubu failed to suspend the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo for his alleged link to the fraud.
The ACM coordinator said Tunji-Ojo should be suspended for alleged “abuse of office” and in line with laid down rules and regulations, according to an open letter the group wrote to the President.
Galadima stated this in an open letter to President Tinubu while reacting to a contract that was awarded to the New Planet Project Limited, a company Tunji-Ojo allegedly had an interest in.
According to Galadima, over 50 groups have indicated interest in joining the mass protest scheduled on Friday and Monday for Kaduna and Abuja.
Tunji-Ojo’s company, New Planet Project Limited was said to have been paid N438.1 million by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation under the leadership of Dr. Betta Edu, for consultancy services.
It had been reported that the money was part of the N3 billion intended for cash transfers and social investment programs for vulnerable Nigerians.
“It is worth noting that the company, which was registered on March 3, 2009, with registration number 804833, has Minister Tunji Ojo and his wife, Abimbola, listed as directors, with Gbadamasi Gbadamasi Clement as the company’s secretary.
“We strongly believe that Minister Tunji Ojo’s actions are in direct violation of the Nigerian Constitution and the Code of Conduct law. Sections 5 and 6 of the Code of Conduct law prohibit public officers from engaging in conflicts of interest and participating in any business other than farming.”
It was also reported that the interior minister while responding to the allegation that his company, New Planet Project Limited, was awarded an N438.1 million contract, said he founded the company about 15 years ago but resigned as its director after his election in 2019.