President Bola Tinubu has taken a decisive step towards revamping the nation’s social investment programmes by approving the creation of a Special Presidential Panel (SPP).
The panel is tasked with conducting a thorough review and reform of the suspended social investment programmes, including the school-feeding initiative.
The Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, will lead the panel. This announcement comes just 24 hours after President Tinubu suspended all administered Social Investment Programmes by the National Social Investment Programme Agency, citing an ongoing investigation into alleged malfeasance in the agency’s management and programmes.
According to a statement from the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, the suspension aims to facilitate the investigation into the alleged malpractices.
In response to the six-week suspension, President Tinubu has instructed the Edun-led panel to “immediately undertake a comprehensive review and audit of existing financial frameworks and policy guidelines of the social investment programmes.”
Read also: Supreme Court: Plateau Assembly Suspends Recognition of 16 Lawmakers
Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, emphasized that the primary goal is to implement “a total re-engineering of the financial architecture of the programmes with detailed modification to procedures guiding the programmes’ implementation moving forward.”
The SPP comprises ministers representing strategic sectors to ensure a multi-disciplinary approach to the reform effort. Apart from the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance as Chairman, other members include the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijjani, and the Minister of State for Youth, Ayodele Olawande.
Read also: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau: AFCON 2023 Opening Clash, Prediction
President Tinubu expressed optimism that the panel would restore lost public confidence in the vital programmes over the years.
He envisions a new era of operation based on open and accountable governance frameworks that are impervious to abuse and incompetence, ultimately benefiting disadvantaged households across the nation.
