The Senate resolved on Tuesday to x-ray the operations of education and humanitarian support agencies as part of the ongoing investigation of the Safe School Initiative (SSI).
The agencies include the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).
The Senate took the decision after a preliminary review of the safe school initiative indicated that there were significant intersections between the implementation and funding mechanisms of the SSI and several federal institutions responsible for educational funding, student welfare, social intervention programmes and humanitarian support.
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The resolution followed a motion moved by the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee on SSI, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia-North), urging the Red Chamber to expand the scope of the investigation to cover the aforementioned agencies.
The former governor of Abia State told the Senate that investigating the SSI in isolation would result in an incomplete assessment of issues relating to school security, educational infrastructure and intervention programmes designed to support vulnerable children.
He noted, “The issues surrounding student security, educational infrastructure funding and social intervention schemes for vulnerable learners across the country are deeply interwoven.
“Investigating the Safe Schools Initiative without reviewing these complementary bodies will result in fragmented legislative oversight.”
The committee will, under the expanded mandate, undertake a comprehensive evaluation of financial flows, operational bottlenecks and accountability structures across the Safe Schools Initiative and the affected agencies.
Social safety net allocations connected to school feeding programmes, emergency relief interventions for displaced students and educational rehabilitation initiatives administered through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and NSIPA will also come under focus.
Among others, the committee will audit infrastructure and security-related intervention projects funded by TETFund across beneficiary tertiary institutions, assess NELFUND’s disbursement processes, operational readiness, administrative efficiency and student access frameworks, while also examining interventions undertaken by UBEC.
Senator Orji, while seeking an extension of time to conclude the probe, explained that time constraints arising from the committee’s extensive schedule and other legislative engagements had affected planned visits to some locations critical to the investigation.
He stated, “We’re supposed to submit our report, and there are four key areas that were not done. I need the permission of the Senate so that we can conclude it in the next two or three weeks and come back with a report.”
The Senate subsequently approved a three-week extension of time to the committee to produce its report.
The work of the committee was further necessitated by the abduction of 25 female students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, during which bandits reportedly killed the school’s Vice Principal, reigniting national concerns over the safety of students and teachers in vulnerable communities.
Recall that SSI was launched in May 2014 following the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State. Conceived as a partnership between the Federal Government, the United Nations and private sector stakeholders, the programme was designed to strengthen security infrastructure around schools, particularly in conflict-prone areas.
Already, the Senate’s probe has uncovered concerns over the utilisation of funds released to implementing agencies. During an investigative hearing, the committee raised questions over the disbursement of ₦15 billion released in 2023 for the programme, with the Nigerian Police Force receiving the largest allocation of ₦6.225 billion.
Other allocations disclosed include ₦3.362 billion to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), ₦2.250 billion to Defence Headquarters and ₦519 million to the Federal Ministry of Education, while the exact amount released to the Department of State Services (DSS) was not publicly disclosed during the hearing.
Earlier, the committee had also queried alleged financial irregularities and consultancy expenditures associated with the programme and subsequently directed the Safe Schools Financing Office to provide a reconciled and comprehensive breakdown of all funds released, expenditures incurred, names of contractors and supporting documentation relating to the Central Bank of Nigeria Trust Fund account.
The National Coordinator of Financing Safe Schools in Nigeria, Hajia Halima Iliya, had informed the committee during one of it’s engagements that the initiative received contributions from both domestic and international partners, including $10 million from the Federal Government, $10 million from Nigerian business leaders, $1 million from the African Development Bank, €2 million from the German Government, $4 million from the Norwegian Government managed through UNICEF, as well as additional support from USAID, the Qatar Foundation and United Nations agencies.
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