President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended all programmes under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).
They are N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme,a statement by Segun Imohiosen, the Director of Information in the office of the Secretary to the government of the federation.( SGF) said on Friday.
According to the statement, the suspension which is for a period of six weeks in the first instance,is further to the ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.
According to the statement, President Tinubu has also raised significant concerns regarding operational lapses and improprieties surrounding payments to the programs’ beneficiaries.
The president has, therefore, constituted a ministerial panel to conduct a thorough review of the Agency’s operations with a view to recommending necessary reforms of the NSIPA.
“During the period of this suspension, all NSIPA-related activities, including but not limited to all distributions, events, payments, collaborations and registrations are now frozen.
“The President wishes to assure the stakeholders and all Nigerians that his administration remains committed to a swift and unbiased process that will ensure that, going forward, social intervention programmes will work exactly as intended, to the benefit of the most vulnerable Nigerians,” the statement added
Recall that the NSIPA domiciled in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is currently under investigation following allegations of fraud running into billions of naira. While some funds allegedly looted by officials in the ministry have been traced and recovered, a significant amount of money is yet to be uncovered according to anti graft commission.
The development in the ministry has led to suspension and investigation of key officials ,past and present namely, a former Minister, Sadiya Umar Farooq and Dr Betta Edu who, until a few days ago supervised the ministry.
While Umar Farooq was investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged fraud amounting to over N40BILLION, Edu is being probed for illegal transfer of N585billion meant for delivery to vulnerable Nigerians in Cross River,Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Ogun states into a private account.
