Reps give Tinubu 72 hours to unfreeze social investments accounts

Nigerian lawmaker argued that though the ban is for Nigerians bound for the UK, it does not exempt over 8,000 Nigerian travelers that have bought air tickets to visit Nigeria during this festive period, as the restriction would affect their re-entry into the UK after holidays.

The House of Representatives has asked President Bola Tinubu to mandate Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance, to unfreeze all accounts belonging to the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) within 72 hours.

The resolution was passed during Tuesday’s plenary session, where lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the agency.

The resolution was sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker, Babajimi Benson, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere and 18 others.

They highlighted that NSIPA plays a critical role in poverty alleviation, youth empowerment, and promoting economic inclusivity across Nigeria. However, its operations have been severely hampered by administrative hurdles, inadequate funding, and the freezing of its accounts.

President Tinubu had previously ordered the suspension of NSIPA’s programmes amid allegations of financial mismanagement by those overseeing the initiatives. This directive also resulted in the freezing of the agency’s accounts, leaving its activities in a state of paralysis.

Lawmakers emphasised the importance of restoring the agency’s functionality to ensure the continuation of its programmes, which are pivotal to improving the livelihoods of millions of Nigerians.

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The house explained that unfreezing the accounts would enable the smooth recommencement of all programmes and the release of funds to NSIPA for the payment of outstanding stipends owed to 395,731 N-Power beneficiaries nationwide.

The House also urged the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to ensure that all the administrative bottlenecks hindering the smooth operations of all programmes of NSIPA are immediately removed; and transmit this resolution to the Senate for concurrence.

Moving the motion, Kalu noted that NSIPA was established pursuant to the National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2023, with the mandate of empowering unemployed persons, vulnerable widows, orphans, children, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable senior citizens, etc.

He also noted that NSIPA oversees critical social intervention programs such as Grant for Vulnerable Groups, N-Power, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).

He further noted that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Government gives emphasis to the mandate of the NSIPA to cushion the effect of economic shocks on the poor and the vulnerable.

The Deputy Speaker expressed concerns that despite the programmes of NSIPA being vital for poverty alleviation, youth empowerment, and economic inclusivity in Nigeria, the agency’s functionality has been hindered due to administrative bottlenecks, insufficient funding, and frozen accounts.

He recalled that the effort of the government and the laudable programmes of NSIPA were truncated by alleged financial mismanagement by handlers of the programmes leading to the suspension of programmes and freezing of the agency’s account and subsequent investigation by anti-corruption and security agencies.