Femi Falana, a human rights attorney and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to give the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) N32.7 billion and $445,000 that were recovered from representatives of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development so that they can be used appropriately.
The funds were initially authorized by the President for the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), which includes conditional cash transfers, school feeding, N-Power, and small business support under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), according to Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB).
He noted that while the EFCC has recovered the full amount alongside an additional $445,000, the money has not yet been redirected to NSIPA, despite the Commission’s stated policy of returning recovered funds for their intended purposes.
“We commend the EFCC and urge it to intensify efforts to recover the outstanding N20 billion still unaccounted for. But more importantly, the recovered N32.7 billion and $445,000 should be transferred to the National Social Investment Programme Agency to help alleviate the hardship faced by over 133 million multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians,” he said.
Falana also called on federal, state, and local governments to scale up their contributions to the programme, pointing to recent increases in government revenue. He insisted that social protection initiatives must be funded meaningfully rather than through token measures.
His remarks come amid growing demands for transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s social welfare funds, following several high-profile corruption scandals in the sector.
