Minister of Interior breaks silence on corruption allegations

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has cleared the air on viral reports that he is a signatory to the company involved in the contract allegations linked to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

Reports say that a company allegedly owned by Tunji-Ojo received a total sum of  N438 million as ‘consultancy fees’ from the ex-Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu.

The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation has been in the eye of the storm following multi-million-naira corruption allegations which also led to the dismissal of its minister, Betta Edu.

Speaking on the allegation in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Tunji-Ojo said, “I am not a signatory to the company.”

He said “I have to say this, I saw it and I was shocked because the company in question was a company, where I was the director.

“About five years ago, I had resigned my directorship. Yes, I founded the company 10 years ago. In 2019 and when I got to the House of Representatives, when I won the election precisely, I resigned. I resigned 4th of February 2019 with a Certified True Copy of Corporate Affairs Commission as far back as 2019 to prove this.”

He added, “I do not run the company. I don’t have any knowledge of the contract. I am not a signatory to any account. I am not a director of the company.

“The company is a limited liability company, which is a private entity. So if the company is a private entity, of course, I am still a shareholder, and to the best of my knowledge public service rule does not prohibit public officers from being shareholders.

“What public service rule says is that you cannot be a director, of which I had resigned about five years ago.

“I have no business with it, absolutely no business. Because I am not involved in the day-to-day running of the company. I do not pursue jobs for the company. I do not bid for the company. I am not a signatory to the company’s account. I am not involved.

“So the company is an entity on its own. If then, the question should be was the job given to the company? If the answer is yes. Then the question is did they follow due process? It is a yes. Did the company deliver on the job? If it’s a yes. Then number three is that they did deliver in line with the agreement of the contract? If it is a no, then they should be sanctioned by the book”.