Betta Edu’s Humanitarian Affairs Ministry Squandermania: How Driver, Others Were Paid N2.5m To Fly To Kogi

Fresh revelations have emerged how the disbursement of the 2023 Grant for Vulnerable Groups by the Federal Government, was allegedly squandered by officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

This is according to a new memo available to The Eagle Online, where an approval was given for seven persons to fly to Kogi State, which has no airport.

According to the November 6, 2023 memo, seven persons, including a driver, are to get N200,000 each for “flight ticket” as part of an advanced team of the Minister, Betta Edu, to Kogi State.

Apart from the fact that Kogi State has no airport, the approval of N200,000 as “flight ticket” for the driver raised more eyebrows.

For the trip, the seven persons listed are to earn N2,515,000.

The beneficiaries, who will be on the trip for five days, have flat rates of N200,000 for flight ticket and N20,000 for airport taxi.

The Duty Tour Allowance of the beneficiaries ranges from N15,000 to N37,500 per night, while their local running allowance, which is 30 percent of the DTA, was put at between N22,500 to N56,250, depending on their status.

On the trip were public servants on Grade Levels 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15 and 16.

In all, they are to get N2,515,000.

The logistics for the disbursement was put at N3 million, while N60 million will be disbursed.

The final approval sighted on the memo, however, was N72,304,500 instead of the N63 million calculated.

According to the memo, 3,000 persons in Kogi State are to receive N20,000 each.