Betta Edu: Tinubu forms commission to investigate N-Power, School Feeding, 2 initiatives
A special panel appointed by President Bola Tinubu will look into the programmes of the National Social Investment Agency (NSIPA).
On Friday, the president imposed a six-week suspension on four of the agency’s initiatives.
The programmes handled by NSIPA are – N-Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme.
In order to thoroughly examine NSIPA’s activities and suggest any required improvements, Tinubu also established a ministerial panel.
The president’s choice was made in response to the ongoing inquiry into claims of fraud in the administration of NSIPA and its initiatives.
President Tinubu had on January 2 suspended the NSIPA Chief Executive Officer, Halima Shehu, for her alleged role in the N37 billion fraud unearthed in the agency under the supervision of the previous Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouk.
Due to the N585 million disbursement issue in the ministry, he also suspended Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, last week.
The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating of the Economy, Wale Edun, is in charge of the special panel, according to a statement released on Saturday night by the President’s Special Advisor on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.
The panel also includes Ministers of State for Youth Ayodele Olawande, Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani, Information and National Orientation Minister Mohammed Idris, Budget and Economic Planning Minister Atiku Bagudu, and Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate.
According to Ngelale, the panel was assigned by the president to conduct a comprehensive audit of the programmes.
“After President Bola Tinubu suspended the four (4) National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) programmes for six weeks, President Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Special Presidential Panel, which will be led by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun,” the statement stated.
The mission assigned to this Special Presidential Panel is to immediately begin a thorough examination and audit of the social investment programmes’ current policy guidelines and financial frameworks in order to completely reengineer the programmes’ financial architecture and make detailed adjustments to the procedures that will govern their future implementation.
The Special Presidential Panel, consisting of ministers from important sectors, will guarantee that the reform endeavour takes a multidisciplinary approach.
“President Tinubu expects that this Special Presidential Panel will live up to the trust placed in it by restoring the public’s lost faith in these crucial programmes over time and launching a new era of operation centred on transparent and accountable governance frameworks that will be immune to abuse and incompetence and exclusively benefit impoverished households throughout our country.”
