Tinubu lifts ban on NSIPA’s frozen accounts

… as FG disbursed N493bn to 5m households nationwide

…To disburse N300,000 to 21,000 farmers

President Bola Tinubu has lifted the suspension placed on the accounts of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), paving the way for the continuation of key poverty alleviation initiatives across the country.

The development was announced by the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Hon. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, during a world press briefing in Abuja on the impact of foreign aid cuts on Nigeria’s humanitarian sector.

According to the Minister, the lifting of the suspension follows the President’s directive to restore operational capacity to the agency, especially as critical funds tied to national social investment projects were locked during the freeze.

He said: “When we came, you know that we met the account on suspension. And then the fund of the Ministry was retrieved from the account. And it’s almost, you know, and the account of the Agency was suspended. But I’m glad to say that Mr. President has directed that that account should be open. And the account has been opened.

“And even now that we say that we are going to start with government enterprises and the empowerment programme, it’s part of that money that is returned to the account of the Ministry. And Mr. President has always given a go-ahead, considering the existence and the emergency in the country, that the money should quickly be returned to the account of the NSIPA. Added to the release that we are expecting for 2025, I think we are good to go.”

The Minister also unveiled plans for the rollout of Grant for Vulnerable Groups (GVG) for the vulnerable groups will also be assisted.

In the bid to accelerate the process, he disclosed that the Ministry has “employed about 53 companies that will help us in updating the NIN registration so that each of those in our National Register that doesn’t have the account number, NIN and BVN, will quickly get there and do something.

“And the companies have already mobilised to the site, and activities are ongoing right now. And that will really start reaching out to many vulnerable groups. And also, this will also push the effect. Because even the IDPs, a lot of IDPs are in the National Social Register.”

Sununu, who reiterated that the present administration has designed a strategic plan for homegrown durable solutions to a myriad of humanitarian challenges, further disclosed that over N493 billion has so far been disbursed to five million households across the country.

He said: “And it’s in that direction that we have developed our local strategy. One, based on transparency and accountability, because whatever we are going to have in the Ministry, provided it’s not transparent and it’s not accountable, the impact is unlikely to be felt. And that also gives us a leeway in trying to address our status that we make the country when the ministry is considered as a cash-and-carry and business-as-usual enterprise.

“So, Mr. President is focusing on the fact that we must redeem the image of the Ministry and institute the principle of accountability and transparency. And then we also believe that when we came in, humanitarian and poverty responses were not in any way being coordinated. While the Ministry is there, saddled with the responsibility of developing policy, oversight, quality assurance and many others, and mitigating the impact of crisis, disasters, it becomes very difficult because there is no coordination at the level of the Ministry, with the state and local government level.

“And, therefore, we have to develop a memo to the Federal Executive Council, which has got the approval of the Council, to have the National Council on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. This will give us a way to develop a programme that is not a federal program, but a national programme in its own right from inception, implementation and oversight, so that we can have a document that will give us on our own.

“Also, some of the local agencies need to see how we can increase budgetary allocation to the Ministry. And which, if you compare the 2024 budget and 2025 budget, we must have to present the value for service. And also, to make sure that a part of it is to improve our official funds program in terms of the national social register.

“Already, over 5 million families, which represent almost 75 million households, have been reached through the rapid response register. And over 493 billion has been disbursed. And one thing that is local in our national social register, if you look at the data, it reflects the report of the multidimensional poverty index in Nigeria.

“The report says that 65% of vulnerable or poor people are in the northern part of the country, while 35% are in the southern part of the country. And then if you look at the urban-rural ratio, it also goes 70-30%. 70% are in the rural areas, while 30% are in the urban areas.

“And if you look at the total amount, the North, which has the highest, in all the multidimensional poverty index, North West has the highest value, which is 64%, which is above even the national average of 63%. So the beneficiaries in the northern part of the country are almost 71%, while in the southern part, it’s 29%. This is just reflecting the data that we are working with.

“So it means that prioritisation and paying more attention to where the buildings are is also one of our homegrown solutions, and also to make it more effective. And then we also look at the sustainability plan. We all believe that rapid response transfer, cash transfer, should not be a permanent destination.

“So also, staying in the National Social Register should be temporary. There must be an entry point. You may be a rich man today, but certain circumstances may lead one to move into the National Social Register. One may be in the National Social Register, and other favourable circumstances may upgrade him to go out of the National Social Register.

“So part of our local solution is to make it a temporary destination. And as such, we also follow up with durable solutions. And those durable solutions, we have already put them into practice.”

The Minister also unveiled the present administration’s plans to extend the durable solutions to smallholder farmers through the Government Enterprises and Empowerment Programme (GEEP)

“I mentioned earlier that we are going to start our government enterprises and empowerment programme (GEEP), that we are going to disburse to 21,000 farmers, and each will receive at least nothing less than 300,000 to support.

“And it’s a short-to-long-term loan that is non-collateral and interest-free. Targeting the dry season farming to complement a lot of losses that may be encountered as a result of flooding and many other issues. So we have a lot of nationally land locally developed districts.

“But most importantly, it’s also to see how much we can call on the nation, to call on the public to support the effort of security agencies. Because whatever we are going to do, provided that we are going to protect the drivers of poverty and humanitarian crisis in Nigeria, such as the conflict that is ongoing, we all believe that.”

Recall that in a statement issued by the former Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu had on January 8, 2024, suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, from office with immediate effect.

The President further “directed the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder.”

In the same vein, the President mandated a panel headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes with a view to conclusively reforming the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.

It would also be recalled that the House of Representatives had on the 3rd December, 2024, passed a resolution urging President Tinubu to mandate the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to unfreeze all NSIPAs’ accounts within 72 hours.

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