Social commentator and anti-corruption campaigner, Mahdi Shehu, has criticised the inclusion of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, in the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 campaign council.
Shehu, in a post on his official X handle on Sunday, questioned the decision to include Edu among those who will play a role in the party’s campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He cited the allegations of financial wrongdoing against her.
His reaction followed the Presidency’s release on Saturday of the full list of members of the APC campaign council, comprising 223 entries.
Commenting on Edu’s inclusion, Shehu said her presence on the campaign team raised questions about the standard being applied in selecting members of the council.
“When the likes of Betta Edu, number 97 on the list, are part of the campaign team of APC, then one can predict the contents of the campaign arising from the well-documented attitude and trademark of the characters,” Shehu said.
He further questioned how someone facing pending allegations involving billions of naira could be included in a major political campaign structure.
“With pending alleged multi-billion fraud and theft and yet able to be nominated as a member of the campaign council, Betta Edu has gone to prove one thing: criminal record is an asset and crime has a special 7-star accommodation,” he said.
Shehu said the development reflected what he described as the contradictions and lack of shame in Nigeria’s democratic system.
He also referenced the case of Halima Shehu, a former National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Authority (NSIPA), whom he said had raised concerns about alleged fraud but was subsequently subjected to attacks.
“Nigeria’s democracy is full of irony and shamelessness, where people like Halima Shehu, who blew a whistle of fraud, are being blackmailed,” he said.
2027: Mahdi Shehu faults Betta Edu’s inclusion in APC campaign council