The House of Representatives has delivered a firm ultimatum to President Bola Tinubu, de­manding the immediate unfreez­ing of all accounts belonging to the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) within 72 hours.
The resolution, adopted during Tuesday’s plenary, was spearheaded by Deputy Speak­er Benjamin Kalu and backed by 20 other lawmakers, signalling a unified call for urgent action.
The lawmakers have tasked President Tinubu with directing Finance Minister, Wale Edun, to lift the freeze on NSIPA’s accounts, a move they insist is critical for re­suming suspended social welfare schemes.
These programmes, includ­ing N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and the Home- Grown School Feeding Initia­tive, have been dormant since January 12.
The freeze stemmed from alleged financial mismanage­ment within NSIPA, prompting President Tinubu to suspend the agency’s CEO, Halima Shehu, alongside the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Pover­ty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
Badamasi Lawal was appoint­ed as Shehu’s successor, but the agency’s activities have remained paralysed.
Lawmakers argued that the continued suspension of these programmes is exacerbating the plight of millions of Nigerians.
They have urged the president to ensure that funds are released immediately for the payment of overdue stipends owed to 395,731 N-Power beneficiaries nation­wide.