BY CHINEDU ASADU

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s president on Monday suspended the country’s minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation over the use of a private bank account for ministry financial transactions in the government’s social welfare program.

Betta Edu was suspended with immediate effect while Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency carries out a “thorough investigation” of all ministry financial transactions,” presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. It said the investigation would extend to the entire framework of Nigeria’s social investment programs.

President Bola Tinubu was elected last year after promising to rid Africa’s most populous country of chronic corruption and extreme poverty. His government said the suspension follows his commitment “to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency and accountability” in how Nigeria’s resources are managed.

Edu’s suspension comes days after local media cited an official memo in which she directed that 585 million naira ($661,000) worth of