Inside Nigeria’s Silent Billion-Naira Welfare Machine
…all activities shrouded in mystery except for a few press releases.
By
Carol Ameh
Several months after Nigeria’s premier poverty alleviation agency, the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), was thrown into disarray by allegations of financial mismanagement, the silence is deafening. Save for sporadic press releases and brief mentions in presidential communiqués, the agency has withdrawn behind a veil of secrecy. For a government body charged with disbursing billions of naira meant for the country’s most vulnerable citizens, the lack of transparency has raised serious concerns.
At the centre of the storm is the abrupt suspension of the agency’s former CEO, Halima Shehu, in January 2024, following allegations of financial malfeasance. She was barely three months into her tenure, having been confirmed by the Senate in October 2023. Her removal was the beginning of a domino effect. Within a week, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, was also suspended over allegations of financial impropriety.
In response, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended all activities under the NSIPA umbrella to facilitate a thorough investigation. Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo, previously the National N-POWER Program Manager, was appointed in an acting capacity. Seven months later, in June 2024, the President announced a new slate of leadership for the agency, with Badamasi Lawal taking over as the substantive Chief Executive Officer.
According to a statement from the presidency, the move aimed to “ensure the effectiveness of humanitarian and social development programmes” and “guarantee that Nigerians, especially vulnerable groups, are the exclusive and direct beneficiaries of his administration’s reconfigured welfare programmes.”
Alongside Lawal’s appointment, other strategic placements were made, including Funmilola Olotu as Programme Manager for the National Social Safety-Net Coordinating Office; Aishat Alubankudi for Grants for Vulnerable Groups; Princess Aderemi Adebowale for the Home Grown School Feeding Programme; and Abdullahi Alhassan Imam for the National Cash Transfer Office.
Despite these reshuffles and reassurances, little is known about what exactly goes on within NSIPA. Journalists who have attempted to investigate have met stonewalls. Officials routinely decline interview requests, and attempts to obtain budget breakdowns or programme audits through the Freedom of Information Act have been ignored or denied.
Established in 2016 by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs) were meant to address widespread poverty and hunger across the country. The agency was tasked with four core initiatives: the N-Power programme, Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP).
The NSIPs were initially praised for their ambition and reach. Since inception, over 4 million beneficiaries have been recorded across the country. However, the schemes have frequently been accused of inefficiencies, poor coordination, and, increasingly, corruption.
The N-Power programme was designed to empower Nigerian youth between the ages of 18 and 35 with employable skills and monthly stipends of N30,000. The Conditional Cash Transfer scheme provides cash assistance to the poorest households, while the GEEP programme offers microloans between N10,000 and N100,000 to traders, artisans, and farmers. The HGSFP aims to boost school enrollment and improve nutrition for primary school children while supporting local food production through farm-to-table sourcing.
But reports of “ghost beneficiaries,” misdirected payments, and nepotism in programme enrolment have plagued these efforts. In 2023, Ms. Betta Edu, the minister suspended the N-Power programme amid allegations of massive irregularities. That same year, NSIPA was allocated over N500 billion in the national budget, a sum that many critics say lacks transparent accounting to date.
As part of the sweeping reforms in early 2024, President Tinubu appointed a six-member Special Presidential Panel led by Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun. The panel, composed of high ranking ministers, was tasked with auditing and reviewing the NSIPs’ operational framework.
It recommended the following: Placing the programmes under a steering committee led by the Finance Minister; a comprehensive operational and financial audit of NSIPA and amending the NSIPA Establishment Act to fix structural gaps that enabled previous abuses.
One of the most significant developments during this period was the President’s request in July 2023 for an $800 million loan from the World Bank to expand the National Social Safety Net Programme (NASSP). This initiative aims to offer shock responsive financial support to vulnerable Nigerians affected by the removal of fuel subsidies.
According to the President, the funds would be disbursed digitally to beneficiaries’ accounts or mobile wallets, an effort aimed at improving transparency and encouraging economic participation in the informal sector. The National Assembly approved the loan, but it’s unclear how much of it has been disbursed or how many have benefited so far. The overlap and ambiguity between NASSP and NSIPA’s mandate only adds to the confusion.
In a move that calls attention to both the high stakes and institutional distrust surrounding NSIPA, President Tinubu sent an executive bill to the National Assembly in October 2023, seeking to move the supervision of the social investment programmes from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs directly to the Presidency. The bill passed second reading in the Senate and is currently under review.
A separate but related amendment, submitted in November 2024, seeks to make the National Social Register the primary tool for identifying and targeting beneficiaries. These reforms could centralize control, potentially reducing corruption or concentrate too much unchecked power, depending on how implementation unfolds.
Critics argue that beyond legislation, the real test will be political will and operational transparency. “It’s not enough to appoint new faces or amend laws,” said a policy analyst at BudgIT, a civic organization that promotes fiscal transparency. “We need to see clear reports, measurable results, and regular audits. Right now, NSIPA is a black box.”
In May 2025, the Federal Government released over N10 billion for the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer scheme, benefiting more than 411,000 households across all 36 states and the FCT. In addition, the NSIPA announced plans to launch new programmes to empower 1.8 million Nigerians a potentially massive intervention if delivered effectively.
But again, specifics are scant. Who qualifies? How are they chosen? What mechanisms ensure that the money reaches its intended recipients?
No official audit has yet been published regarding the N10 billion disbursement. Civil society groups continue to call for full transparency, particularly in how digital payments are tracked and verified.
Meanwhile, state-level monitoring remains weak. Several local governments report that they have not received adequate guidance or data-sharing from the federal agency to effectively coordinate implementation or vet beneficiaries.
The silence surrounding NSIPA is not just about bureaucratic inefficiency, it reflects a deeper, systemic resistance to transparency in Nigeria’s public institutions. For an agency that handles multi-billion-naira interventions and serves as a lifeline for millions, the current opacity is not just unacceptable; it is dangerous.
With a fragile economy, increasing poverty, and billions at stake, Nigerians deserve to know what’s really happening behind NSIPA’s closed doors.
As more funds are allocated and new programmes launched under the guise of “Renewed Hope,” Nigerians have a right to know: Where is the money going? Who is watching the watchers? And perhaps most urgently, what exactly is NSIPA hiding from the press?