Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has debunked claim that a firm allegedly owned by him received N438 million as “consultancy fees” from the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
He clarified when featured on Channels Television’s Politics Today, on Monday.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended Edu over corruption allegations on Monday.
Shortly after Edu’s suspension, reports emerged that the Minister paid a company owned by the Minister of Interior a total amount of N438.1 million for consultancy services.
“The company, New Planet Project Limited, was one of the numerous consultants awarded contracts from N3bn given out by the suspended Minister for the National Social Register contract,” the report stated.
Reacting to the allegation Tunji-Ojo, said that he founded the company ten years ago but resigned from directorship in 2019 when he contested for the House of Representatives.
The Minister, who described the report as shocking, said he was not involved in the day-to-day running of New Planet Project Limited.
He said, “I have to say this: I saw it and was shocked because the company in question was where I was the director. About five years ago, I resigned my directorship.
“Yes, I founded the company ten years ago. In 2019, when I got to the House of Representatives, I won the election precisely, and I resigned. I resigned on 4th February, 2019, with a Certified True Copy of Corporate Affairs Commission as far back as 2019 to prove this.”