The Presidency has summoned the Minister of Interior, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, for a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, scheduled for this afternoon.
Tunji-Ojo is under scrutiny for alleged financial transactions with the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry through a company, New Planet Projects, in which he reportedly holds an interest.
The said company reportedly secured a contract worth over N400 million from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
The development comes after the suspension of Dr. Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, by President Tinubu on Monday, citing financial irregularities and mismanagement of public funds.
Tunji-Ojo defended himself on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme Monday night, acknowledging his founding of the controversial company. However, he claimed to have resigned from his directorship since 2019 upon winning a seat in the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Betta Edu and Tunji-Ojo’s relationship had raised eyebrows, with indications of a mentor-mentee allegation, given their joint screening, visits to the senators before screening, and their close ties in Abuja,
Since assuming office in 2019, Tunji-Ojo, as a member representing his constituency in Ondo State, had faced scrutiny for his extravagant spending, particularly in dollars, with allegations of questionable actions during his chairmanship of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Committee and an alleged fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.
However, despite Tunji-Ojo’s claims that he had resigned in 2019 from the company he founded, questions linger about the status of the New Planet Projects, while payments approved by Betta Edu are said to have raised the need for a thorough forensic audit, extending to other ministries beyond the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
