The Federal Government has announced that Bola Ahmed Tinubu has put a halt to all programmes run by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).
This decision was communicated on Friday by Segun Imohiosen, the Director of Information and Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He stated that Tinubu’s action was due to the “ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.”
The statement further read, “All four (4) Programmes administered by NSIPA, namely; N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and Home Grown School Feeding Programme (the “Programs”) have been put on hold for an initial period of six weeks.”
Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed serious concerns about operational issues and irregularities related to payments to the beneficiaries of the Programs.
In the same statement, it was revealed that Tinubu has set up a ministerial panel to carry out a comprehensive review of the agency’s operations and suggest necessary reforms for the NSIPA.
During this suspension period, all activities related to NSIPA, including but not limited to all distributions, events, payments, collaborations, and registrations, have been put on hold.
On January 2, Tinubu suspended Halima Shehu, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA). This suspension came about three months after her appointment was confirmed by the Senate.
Prior to her appointment, Halima served as the National Coordinator of the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme and had previously worked with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development from 2017 to 2022.
In light of the suspension and ongoing investigation into the allegations, Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo, the National N-POWER Program Manager, has been appointed as the acting NC/CEO until the investigation is concluded.