Consultancy Fee:Tinubu Summons Tunji-Ojo, Interior minister

President Bola Tinubu has summoned the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, over his alleged involvement of the controversial N438 million contract scandal involving the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.

The Nation newspaper reports that Mr Tunji-Ojo was summoned by the president on Tuesday.

The minister is expected to explain his role in the contract awarded to New Planet Project Limited, a firm linked to him.

A leaked memo being circulated online showed that a firm linked to the minister, received a substantial sum labeled as ‘consultancy fees’ from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

Mr Tunji-Ojo had earlier in a television interview denied any involvement in the contract, explaining that he resigned his directorship of the company in 2019.

”I am not a signatory to the company,” he said.

“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.”

Mr Tunji-Ojo said he co-founded the New Planet Project with his wife 15 years ago but resigned as a director in 2019 upon winning a seat in the House of Representatives.

However, he remained a shareholder in the company.

“Of course, to the best of my knowledge, public service rules do not prohibit public officers from being shareholders. What public service rules say is that you cannot be a director of which I had resigned about five years ago.”

President Tinubu, on Monday, suspended Mrs Edu for allegedly diverting over N585 million to a private account.