The Senate has summoned key education and social intervention agencies, including the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), as it widened its probe into the Safe Schools Initiative.
The Red Chamber also extended by three weeks the lifespan of its ad hoc committee investigating the initiative to enable it conclude its assignment.
The decision followed a motion sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on the Safe Schools Initiative, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North), who cited preliminary findings indicating strong links between the initiative and agencies responsible for education funding, student welfare, and social investment programmes.
Kalu said restricting the probe to the Safe Schools Initiative alone would undermine a holistic assessment of challenges affecting school security and education interventions nationwide.
“The issues surrounding student security, educational infrastructure funding and social intervention schemes are deeply interconnected. Investigating them in isolation would result in fragmented oversight,” he said.
Under the expanded mandate, the committee will scrutinise funding patterns, operational challenges, and accountability mechanisms across the affected agencies.
It will also review social safety net allocations, including school feeding programmes, emergency support for displaced students, and rehabilitation initiatives handled by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and NSIPA.
In addition, the panel will audit TETFund-funded infrastructure and security projects in tertiary institutions, assess NELFUND’s loan disbursement process and accessibility, and examine UBEC’s interventions in basic education.
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Kalu noted that additional time was necessary to complete the investigation due to outstanding critical areas and the committee’s workload.
With the extended timeline and broader scope, the Senate expects a comprehensive report with recommendations to enhance transparency, accountability, and the effectiveness of programmes aimed at improving student safety and educational outcomes nationwide.
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