The dust raised by the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu is yet to settle down in the political environment as the embattled, Minister of Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji- Ojo, was on Monday invited to appear before the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) over the involvement of his company in an alleged N438m contract uncovered in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The CCB is instigating an investigation into the alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers by the Minister. Specifically, a company, New Planet Projects, allegedly belonging to the Minister, benefitted from an alleged contract scam in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The CCB invited the Mr. Tunji – Ojo to appear before it on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at the CCB Headquarters, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.

The invitation signed by Mr. Gwimi S.P, the CCB Director, Investigation and Monitoring, on behalf of the CCB Chairman, Mr. Murtala Aliyu, said the bureau’s invitation was 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, reads: “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.”

Mr. Tunji – Ojo is the first Minister in the fourth Republic to be invited by the CCB.

Some politicians that have been investigated in the past and prosecuted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) include Senate President Olusola Abubakar Saraki and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

A leaked memo circulated online two weeks ago showed that a company linked to Mr Tunji-Ojo, New Planet Project Limited, received a substantial sum (N438million) as ‘consultancy fees’ from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has, however, denied any involvement in the controversial N438 million contract.

A leaked memo being circulated online showed that a company linked to Mr Tunji-Ojo, New Planet Project Limited, received a substantial sum labeled as ‘consultancy fees’ from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

But addressing the issues in an interview on Channels TV, Mr Tunji-Ojo refuted the allegations and dismissed his involvement in the company’s operations.

The Minister presented a document claimed to be a certified copy from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), stressing that he resigned from the company five years ago.

“I am not a signatory to the company,” he said adding: “And actually, I was shocked because the company in question was a company where I was a director. About five years ago, I had resigned from my directorship.”

The embattled minister admitted that he co-founded the company with his wife 15 years ago but resigned as a director in 2019 upon winning a seat in the House of Representatives.

However, he remained a shareholder in the company. “Of course, to the best of my knowledge, public service rules do not prohibit public officers from being shareholders. What public service rules say is that you cannot be a director of which I had resigned about five years ago,” he said.