President Tinubu Suspends N-Power, School Feeding, Others

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended all administered programmes by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), the Federal Government said.

Announcing the suspension in a statement on Friday, the Director Information, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, said the president’s decision was in view of the “ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.”

“All four (4) Programmes administered by NSIPA, viz; N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme (the “Programs”) have been suspended for a period of six weeks in the first instance,” the statement read.

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“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also raised significant concerns regarding operational lapses and improprieties surrounding payments to the Programs’ beneficiaries.”

According to the statement, Tinubu also constituted a ministerial panel to conduct a thorough review of the agency’s operations to recommend 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.

Tinubu also assured 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.

Worried by the alleged financial malfeasance in the agency, the President on January 2 suspended the Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), Halima Shehu.

Before Halima’s appointment, she worked as the National Coordinator of the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme and had previously served with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. That was between 2017 and 2022.

With the suspension and investigation into the allegations, Dr Akindele Egbuwalo, the National N-POWER Program Manager, has been appointed in an acting capacity as NC/CEO pending the conclusion of the investigation.

Her suspension is coming about three months after the confirmation of her appointment by the Senate.