Mr. Prosper Okafor, Founder, Crusade for Greater Nigeria on Poverty Eradication (CFGN), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has described President Bola Tinubu’s uncompromising stance against corruption as roadmap to Nigeria’s economic recovery.
Okafor said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday. while reacting to the suspension of Ms Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs.
He commended Tinubu for taking a bold step in the fight against corruption, especially among public office holders.
“President Tinubu has demonstrated to Nigerians his disdain for corruption by tackling it headlong, no matter whose ox is gored.
“Such a step is not only highly commendable but the beginning of greater economic recovery because it would serve as deterrent to others,” he said.
The CFGN founder, urged Nigerians to rally behind Tinubu to achieve a corrupt-free Nigeria, where everyone would be proud to call theirs.
According to him, Tinubu’s suspension of Edu is clear signal to everyone, no matter how highly placed, that it is no more business as usual.
Okafor, who expressed optimism in the anti-graft policy of Tinubu, said that it would restore Nigeria’s dignity and fiscal responsibility through accountability.
He urged Tinubu to give the suspended minister a second chance considering her age as a youth.
According to him, she may have learnt her lessons and perhaps acted out of youthful exuberance.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Tinubu suspended Edu on Jan. 8 following controversy surrounding financial transactions she authorised in her ministry.
The suspension, according to a statement by presidential spokesperson, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, had immediate effect.
The alleged scandal included the approval of payment running into hundreds of millions of naira into the private accounts of civil servants.
Edu had come under criticism from Nigerians for ordering the transfer of N585.2 million into the private bank account of a civil servant, who is the accountant in charge of grants for vulnerable Nigerians.
The minister had issued a memo to the Accountant General of the Federation in December 2023, ordering the said amount to be paid into the civil servant’s private bank account. (NAN)
