From Victor Osula, Abuja
The House of Representatives has given President Bola Tinubu a 72-hour deadline to order the unfreezing of all accounts belonging to the National Social Investment Programmes Agency.
The ultimatum followed a resolution passed during Tuesday’s plenary after the adoption of a motion sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Babajimi Benson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, and 18 other lawmakers.
The motion highlighted the need to reactivate NSIPA’s accounts to facilitate the payment of outstanding stipends owed to 395,731 N-Power beneficiaries and ensure the smooth resumption of its programmes.
Tinubu had, on January 2, suspended NSIPA’s Chief Executive Officer, Halima Shehu, and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, while placing all NSIPA programmes on a six-week suspension as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in the agency.
Leading the debate, Kalu reminded lawmakers that NSIPA was established under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2023, to empower vulnerable groups, including unemployed persons, widows, orphans, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens.
He noted that NSIPA oversees critical programmes such as N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfers, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, Grants for Vulnerable Groups, and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
These initiatives, he said, align with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at cushioning the effects of economic shocks on Nigeria’s poor and vulnerable populations.
“The House is concerned that the agency’s programmes, vital for poverty alleviation, youth empowerment, and economic inclusivity, have been hampered by frozen accounts and administrative bottlenecks, despite the President’s reconstitution of NSIPA’s management over three months ago,” Kalu said.
He added that the frozen accounts contradict President Tinubu’s commitment to poverty alleviation, stalling key social welfare initiatives and undermining public confidence.
Highlighting the impact, Kalu said, “The N-Power programme alone has been so negatively affected that 395,731 beneficiaries are owed stipends amounting to N81.3 billion, funds already appropriated in the 2023 and 2024 amended Appropriation Acts, which will lapse by December 31, 2024.”
The lawmakers unanimously adopted the motion, urging the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to remove all bottlenecks hindering NSIPA’s programmes.
The House also resolved to transmit the resolution to the Senate for concurrence, signaling a unified push to restore the agency’s operations.
