What you didn’t know about Tinubu’s youngest minister

The ministerial  position of Dr Betta Edu is coming as a result of her  commitment to championing the cause of empowering women, children, and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria.

The is  also to acknowledge her spectacular role in mobilizing Nigerians to vote for President Bola Tinubu in the last general elections.

With her hard work and commitment, one can say that the profile of Dr. Betta Edu, the National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is on the rise.

Betta C. Edu (born October 27, 1986) is a Nigerian politician and national women leader of All Progressive Congress. She was Cross River State Commissioner for Health until her resignation in 2022. She was also National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.

Career

In 2015, Edu became the youngest person to be appointed Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Cross River State Benedict Ayade on Community and Primary Healthcare.

In 2020, she became chairman of the Cross River State COVID-19 Taskforce. In August that year, she was appointed National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.

Edu is a Fellow of the Royal School of Public Health in and the African Institute of Public Health Professionals.

Betta Edu became the youngest national woman leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March 2022.

Betta as APC National women leader during the 2023 Nigerian general elections campaign assured women of 35 percent affirmative action from President Bola Tinubu.

In July 2023, the state Women Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across all 36 states in Nigeria including that of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) passed a vote of confidence on Betta Edu. They did this during their visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Also in July 2023, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Maryam Babangida National Center For Women Development Headed by DG Asabe Vilita Bashir, in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development awarded Betta Edu the Award of Excellence in Leadership for gender inclusion and women empowerment. This is in recognition of her commitment to championing the cause of empowering women, children, and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria.

Awards

• Nigeria Quintessential Woman Award, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (2020)
• Award of Excellence, National Youth Council of Nigeria (2020)
• Medical Expert of the Year (2020)
• Award of excellence in Gender inclusion, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (2023) 

Controversies

In 2020, Edu was accused of posting fake photos of ventilators. The Cross River state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association passed a vote of no confidence on Edu over accusations of professional misconduct in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Edu claims the vote of no confidence was political. In 2022, during her campaign to become National Women Leader of the APC, Edu was accused of procedural misconduct.

Wikipedia