Shareholding By A Public Officer

INTRODUCTION

The anti-corruption drive of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has received its first stress test arising from the crisis in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development ('MHADMSC'). The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, recently announced that arising from allegations concerning the alleged misappropriation of N585,000,000 (Five Hundred and Eighty-Five Million Naira), the President has suspended the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hon. (Dr.) Betta Edu.¹ In the dying hours of the 8^th of January, 2024, the crisis took a new turn, expanding its scope to affect the Honourable Minister of Interior, Hon. 'Bunmi Tunji-Ojo. It is alleged, that a company in which the minister is a shareholder – i.e., New Planet Project Limited – was one of the persons awarded a consultancy contract by the MHADMSC. Hon. Tunji-Ojo has