By Our Reporter
The House of Representatives has called on President Bola Tinubu to instruct the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to unfreeze the accounts of the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) within 72 hours.
This urgent request aims to restart critical NSIPA programs and ensure that 395,731 N-Power beneficiaries nationwide receive the stipends they are owed.
In addition to the account freeze, the House has urged the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to resolve the administrative challenges hindering the agency’s operations. The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Deputy Speaker Hon. Benjamin Kalu, along with Hon. Babajimi Benson, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, and 18 other lawmakers.
Hon. Kalu emphasized that NSIPA, established under the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act of 2023, is responsible for key poverty alleviation initiatives, including the N-Power scheme, Grants for Vulnerable Groups, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).
He noted that NSIPA’s work aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at addressing the economic difficulties faced by Nigeria’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. However, Kalu expressed concern that the agency’s frozen accounts have disrupted its operations for over three months, despite the reconstitution of its management team.
The Deputy Speaker condemned the suspension of NSIPA’s accounts, calling it a significant setback to the President’s poverty alleviation goals. He argued that the freeze undermines