National Assembly Gives 72 Hours Ultimatum to Tinubu, Reason Emerges

• President Bola Tinubu has been urged to direct Wale Edun, the minister of finance, to unfreeze the accounts of NSIPA within 72 hours
• The House of Representatives passed the resolution on Tuesday, December 3, following a motion by the deputy speaker of the house, Benjamin Kalu
• Kalu had argued that the freezing of the accounts had hindered the activities of the programmes, which centred on alleviating poverty

The House of Representatives has called on President Bola Tinubu to order his minister of finance, Wale Edun, to ensure that all accounts of the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) are maintained within 74 hours.

The lower chamber of the national assembly passed the resolution on Tuesday, December 3, following a motion raised by the deputy speaker, Benjamin Kalu, and 20 other lawmakers.

The NSIPA oversees several social investment programs, including N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), and the Home-Grown School Feeding Initiative. The lawmakers maintained that unfreezing these accounts would allow the agency to recommence its programmes smoothly. The House of Representatives also directed that the president should ensure funds are released for NSIPA to pay the outstanding amount owed to 395,731 beneficiaries of N-Power.

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Why Tinubu freezed accounts of NSIPA

The NSIPA has been embroiled in controversy, with allegations of financial mismanagement leading to the suspension of its programs and the freezing of its accounts. In January 2024, President Tinubu suspended the agency's CEO, Halima Shehu, and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu. The president has since appointed Badamasi Lawal to replace Shehu.

In his presentation, the deputy speaker emphasized the importance of social investment programs for poverty alleviation, youth empowerment, and economic inclusivity in Nigeria. He noted that administrative bottlenecks, insufficient funding, and frozen accounts have hindered the agency's functionality. Kalu urged the president to restore the agency's accounts to align with his vision of poverty alleviation.

The House of Representatives has transmitted the resolution to the Senate for concurrence.

House in rowdy session over Tinubu's bill

Legit.ng earlier reported that the House of Representatives had been thrown into disarray after its spokesperson, Akin Rotimi, mentioned President Bola Tinubu's tax reform bills.

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Reps order Tinubu to unfreeze NSIPA’s accounts allegedly linked to Betta Edu, issue ultimatum

While trying to present two bills for consideration, the Ekiti lawmaker mentioned the tax bills but received yelling from his colleagues.

Speaker Tajudeen Abbas attempted to calm down the lawmakers, saying Rotimi was only speaking personal opinion, but the lawmakers kept yelling at him.

Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng