The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, was on Monday spotted at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as pressure mounts.
Despite reports that President Bola Tinubu had summoned him, the claims were not verified.
Newsmen sighted the minister leaving the President’s office complex a few minutes after 2 p.m.
Although sources close to the President said he was not summoned, Tunji-Ojo and all his counterparts who were on the president’s schedule on Tuesday were unable to see him as he was meeting a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States.
When he was approached for an interview, the minister simply said, “It’s all good,” as he made his way out of the Presidential Villa.
His appearance at the Villa came barely 24 hours after the suspension of his counterpart in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu.
After Edu’s suspension, Tinubu directed the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, to investigate all financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
There were reports that a company owned by Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, New Planet Projects Limited, was paid N438.1 million by Edu for consultancy services.
But while featuring on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Monday night, Tunji-Ojo said that though he founded the company 10 years ago, he resigned from its directorship in 2019 when he contested for the House of Representatives.
The Minister of Interior, Tunji-Ojo, described the report as shocking, insisting he is only a shareholder in the company and not involved in its day-to-day operations.
He said, I have to say this; I saw it, and I was shocked because the company in question was a company where I was the director.
“About five years ago, I resigned my directorship. Yes, I founded the company 10 years ago. In 2019, when I got to the House of Representatives, when I won the election precisely, I resigned. I resigned on February 4, 2019 with a Certified True Copy of Corporate Affairs Commission as far back as 2019 to prove this.”
