The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked President Bola Tinubu to direct 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.

In a motion sponsored by Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu and 20 others, the lawmakers said suspension of the programme has severely impacted the N-Power program, leaving 395,731 beneficiaries unpaid a total of ?81.3 billion in stipends already allocated under the amended 2023 and 2024 Appropriation Acts.

The House also urged the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to address administrative bottlenecks hampering NSIPA?s operations.

Kalu highlighted that NSIPA, established under the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act, 2023, oversees critical poverty alleviation programs such as the N-Power scheme, Grants for Vulnerable Groups, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).

He noted that NSIPA?s mandate aligns with President Tinubu?s Renewed Hope Agenda to cushion the effects of economic challenges on Nigeria?s poor and vulnerable populations. However, Kalu expressed concern over the agency?s frozen accounts, which have paralyzed its operations for over three months, even after the reconstitution of its management team.

The Deputy Speaker criticized the account suspension, stating it undermines the President?s poverty alleviation agenda by halting vital social welfare initiatives, delaying progress toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and eroding public confidence in the government?s efforts to tackle poverty.

He also pointed out that the suspension has severely impacted the N-Power program, leaving 395,731 beneficiaries unpaid a total of ?81.3 billion in stipends already allocated under the amended 2023 and 2024 Appropriation Acts.

Kalu urged swift action to unfreeze NSIPA?s accounts, stressing the importance of restoring its functionality to meet the administration?s poverty eradication goals.

?The smooth operations of NSIPA programs must resume to fulfill their mandate of empowering the nation?s vulnerable populations.?

The motion was adopted, with the House resolving to transmit its resolutions to the Senate for concurrence. (The Guardian)