Minister Responds To Contract Award Allegations

Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has distanced himself from claims of owning a company awarded a contract by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

Some reports claimed that a firm allegedly owned by the minister had gotten  N438 million as “consultancy fees” from the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Betta Edu.

But Olubunmi has denied owning the said firm.

“I am not a signatory to the company,” he said on Monday during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today. 

“As I’ve always said, I came into public office with a commitment to base my service on sincerity of purpose and openness. I believe that Nigerians don’t deserve to be kept in the dark in terms of public office operations.”

He added: “And actually, I was shocked because the company in question was a company where I was a director. About five years ago, I had resigned from my directorship”.

While admitting to founding the company alongside his wife, the minister said his resignation from the firm was owing to his political ambition.

“I and my wife founded the company 15 years years ago. Well, in 2019, when I got to the House of Representatives, when I won election precisely, I made a change,” he said.

“I had resigned as director of the company to hold office.”

The minister said he is only a shareholder of the company which is not in violation of the law.

“Of course, and to the best of my knowledge, the public service rule does not prohibit public officers from being shareholders,” Olubunmi said.