The Conflict Research Network West Africa (CORN) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to broaden actions beyond suspending former Minister Betta Edu, who faces allegations of diverting funds meant for humanitarian purposes into a private account.
The suspension of the former minister, amidst ongoing investigations into alleged financial impropriety, has sparked continued calls for her prosecution.
However, Dr Tarila Marclint Ebiede, the director of CORN, emphasised the need for a more extensive approach to address Nigeria’s social protection system.
Highlighting the urgency to overhaul the country’s social protection architecture, Ebiede urged President Tinubu to adopt digital solutions for cash transfer programs while reinforcing accountability mechanisms within the federal government and its agencies.
In his statement on Wednesday, Ebiede lauded the President’s swift suspension of the minister.
The CORN director emphasised the need to digitise cash transfer programs and fortify accountability mechanisms within the government’s social protection initiatives.
Additionally, he called upon international development partners and the private sector to support Nigerian state institutions tasked with social protection mandates, particularly in catering to the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
Part of the statement read: “The need for effective, efficient, and transparent management of resources allocated to the Ministry to achieve its mandate can not be overemphasised.
“CORN wish to remind the President, international development partners, and the Nigerian civil society that one of the key findings from research presented at its November 2023 Conference on Social Protection in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Societies in Nigeria was the political capture and lack of transparency in the implementation of Nigeria’s social protection programmes, including the national conditional cash transfer, palliatives and other financial support provided by the government”.