Corruption: Tinubu Suspends Social Investment Programme, Constitutes Panel

All administered programmes by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), have been suspended by President Bola Tinubu.

This is just as he constituted a ministerial panel to conduct a thorough review of the Agency’s operations.

The suspension was due to the ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.

Osun Defender reports that the National Coordinator of NSIPA, Halima Shehu was suspended by Tinubu over allegations of financial misappropriation and money laundering involving N37.1 billion within the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.

Also, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission who invited her after she was suspended, said it had recovered about N39.8 billion out of N44.8 billion allegedly embezzled from the government account under her watch.

Shehu allegedly signed off N44 billion from the government account in five days between 27th and 31st December 2023.

The suspension was made known on Friday in a statement by the Director of Information in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen

He noted that all four (4) Programmes administered by NSIPA, which are; N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme had been suspended for a period of six (6) weeks in the first instance.

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

“He has therefore constituted a ministerial panel to conduct a thorough review of the Agency’s operations with a view to recommending 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.

“The President wishes to assure the 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.”