President Bola Tinubu has announced the suspension of all administered programs by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) as part of the ongoing investigation into alleged financial malfeasance.
This decision comes in the wake of the suspension of Halima Shehu, the CEO of NSIPA, on January 2, over financial misconduct, and the subsequent suspension of Betta Edu as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation on January 8.
According to a statement released on Friday by the Director of Information at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Segun Imohiosen, the suspension of all four programs administered by NSIPA — N-Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and Home Grown School Feeding Programme — will be in effect for a period of six weeks in the first instance.
President Tinubu expressed significant concerns about operational lapses and improprieties related to payments to the programs’ beneficiaries. To address these issues, he has constituted a ministerial panel tasked with conducting a thorough review of the agency’s operations and recommending necessary reforms.
“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 statement reads.
President Tinubu reassured stakeholders and the Nigerian public that his administration remains committed to a swift and unbiased process that will ensure the effective functioning of social intervention programs for the benefit of the most vulnerable Nigerians.
