Monday, August 25, 2025 - Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to transfer N32.7 billion and $445,000—recovered from officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development—to the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) for proper utilization.
Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and
Beyond (ASCAB), said the funds were originally approved by the President for
the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), which covers school feeding,
N-Power, conditional cash transfers, and small business support under the
Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).
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.
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