Claims by the Minister of Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo that he resigned the ownership of New Planet Project Limited, one of the companies that got consultancy jobs from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs under the suspended Minister, Betta Edu.
Tunji-Ojo, while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday evening had denied being in control of the company since he resigned as a Director in 2019.
Osun Defender had reported that the company owned by Tunji-Ojo allegedly received N438 million as ‘consultancy fees’ from the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Betta Edu.
The company was one of the consultants awarded contracts worth N3 billion for the National Social Register contract. The social register was created for cash transfers and other social investment programmes.
While admitting to be a shareholder in the company, the former member of the House of Representatives, distanced himself from anything related to the company.
Findings by Osun Defender however revealed that Mr. Tunji-Ojo is a Person with Significant Control as at the 14th of November, 2023, and a major shareholder in the company, according to the Corporate Affairs Commission CAC.
Further investigations show that his wife, Mrs Abimbola Tunji-Ojo is also a director and a shareholder in the New Planet Project Limited, a 15-year-old company she runs day-to-day with her husband remaining the beneficial owner of the company.
It was also gathered that since he resigned in 2019, Mr. Tunji-Ojo has been discreetly managing the affairs of the firm. Sources also hinted that the Minister is a close ally of the embattled Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Betta Edu.
Recall that Edu had been in the news for asking the Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein to send public funds to a private account that belonged to Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola, identified as a project manager by the minister.
The minister had approved that N585,198,500.00 should be disbursed into a personal account.
It approved funds for flight tickets and airport taxis for her team from Abuja to Kogi State, even though the latter has no airport.
Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.
