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By Emmanuel Adeleke
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has invited Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, over the award of N438 million contract to a company linked to him by the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
A leaked memo had shown that the firm linked to Tunji-Ojo received N438 million as payment for “consultancy fees” from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
But the minister has denied any involvement in the contract, insisting that he was no longer involved in the running of the company after resigning as its director in 2019.
Despite the denial, the CCB in an invitation letter signed the head of its Department of Intelligence, Investigation and Monitoring , Gwimi S.P., asked Tunji-Ojo to appear before it on Tuesday, January 16, over the contract scandal.
The letter revealed that the bureau’s invitation is hinged on its mandate and powers as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part 1, 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“The bureau is investigating a case of alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in which your name featured prominently. Consequently, you are invited for an interview scheduled as follows:
“Date: Tuesday, January, 16, 2024. Time: 1100hrs prompt.
Venue: CCB Headquarters on 5th Floor, Annex III, Phase I, Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.
“This invitation is pursuant to the mandate and powers of the Bureau as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part I, Paragraph 3 (e) to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. Please be properly guided,” the letter read.