[EXCLUSIVE] Betta Edu: What We Know About Zenith, Jaiz, Providus Banks CEOs’ appearances at EFCC Office Today

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday played host to Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers of Zenith (Ebenezer Onyeagwu), Jaiz (Haruna Musa) and Providus (Walter Akpani) Banks. 

NewsClick Nigeria reliably gathered that the august visitors were at the Commission’s headquarters in connection with the searchlight on activities of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

Findings by this medium revealed that during the visit which lasted about two hours, the EFCC’s interrogators sought clarifications from the CEOs on the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry’s accounts with their various Banks.

Recall that the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, is currently being held and is undergoing interrogation by the EFCC over ₦585million scandal.

Also, Halima Shehu, the embattled Co-ordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency domiciled in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is being probed by the EFCC over an alleged ₦44bn fraud.

However, two top executives of one of the listed Banks said media reports (not from NewsClick Nigeria) that the MDs were arrested, is false and misleading. The sources said truly the Banks CEOs’ were at the EFCC headquarters around 4:55pm to honour an earlier invitation from the Commission.

“Reports of arrests of the bank MDs in connection with the ongoing investigation into the fraud case at the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry is entirely false and misleading. Ministries run accounts with banks and if there’s any suspected case of fraud, the respective bank heads will be invited to give clarifications. That is what the CEOs were at the EFCC office for today and it was at the behest of the Commission,” they said.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu had earlier on Monday suspended Edu over an alleged N585m cash transfer saga.

The suspended minister was invited by the anti-graft agency in compliance with Tinubu’s order that a comprehensive investigation encompassing her activities in the ministry be carried out, a top source in the anti-graft commission told reporters.

Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Farouq, was also queried by EFCC interrogators on Monday, over allegations that she laundered N37.1 billion while serving as a minister in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.

Also, Shehu was earlier arrested in connection with an alleged ₦44billion money laundering and had been mandated to report to the EFCC every day following her release last Wednesday.