Tinubu’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Beta Edu, has recently faced public scrutiny due to investigations into an alleged N585 million fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Opposition parties and anti-corruption advocates have called for Edu’s dismissal following the leak of a memo she issued, directing the Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer N585 million into the private bank account of a project accountant in her ministry, Bridget Oniyelu.
As the controversy unfolds, here is a background on the embattled minister:
Beta Edu, born on October 27, 1986, in the Abi Local Government Area of Cross Rivers State, is a medical doctor turned politician. She completed her secondary education at the Federal Government Girls College, Calabar in 2001, and earned her first degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Calabar in 2009.
Edu furthered her education with a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the same institution and obtained a Doctor of Public Health from Texila American University.
In 2015, Edu made history as the youngest person appointed as Special Adviser on Community and Primary Healthcare to the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade. In 2020, she assumed the role of Chairman of the Cross River State COVID-19 Taskforce and later became the National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum in August of the same year.
A Fellow of the Royal School of Public Health and the African Institute of Public Health Professionals, Edu made waves when she was appointed the National Woman Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March 2022, becoming the youngest to hold the position. Her leadership skills and strategic campaigns during the 2023 electioneering campaign led to her nomination as a minister by President Bola Tinubu in July 2023.
Subsequently, in August 2023, Edu was sworn in as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, marking her as the first female minister from Cross River State and the youngest minister at the Federal Executive Council. The recent controversy surrounding alleged financial misconduct has brought her otherwise impressive career under intense scrutiny.
