Betta Edu saga: Tinubu suspends national social investment programmes

President Bola Tinubu has suspended all administered programmes by the national social investment programme agency (NSIPA).

On January 2, Tinubu suspended Halima Shehu as the chief executive officer (CEO) of NSIPA, over alleged financial malfeasance.

Also on January 8, the president suspended Betta Edu as minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation.

Edu’s ministry supervises NSIPA and has come under scrutiny after a memo surfaced wherein she asked Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation, to transfer the sum of N585 million to a private account.

According to a statement on Friday by Segun Imohiosen, director of information at the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), the suspension is part of the ongoing investigation of alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.

“All four (4) Programmes administered by NSIPA, viz; N- Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and Home Grown School Feeding Programme have been suspended for a period of six (6) weeks in the first instance,” the statement reads.

“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.”