Committee Gets 3-week Extension As Senate Expands Safe Schools Probe

The Senate has expanded the mandate of its Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) Programme.

It also extended the committee’s work by three weeks and widened the probe to include the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by the committee’s chairman, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North), pursuant to Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2026 (as amended), seeking an expansion of the panel’s terms of reference and additional time to conclude its work.

Presenting the motion, Kalu said preliminary findings had revealed major links between the implementation and funding of the Safe Schools Initiative and several federal institutions responsible for education funding, student welfare, humanitarian support and social intervention programmes.

According to him, investigating the Safe Schools Initiative in isolation would leave critical gaps in the Senate’s oversight of school security, educational infrastructure and intervention programmes aimed at protecting vulnerable learners.

“The issues surrounding student security, educational infrastructure funding and social intervention schemes for vulnerable learners across the country are deeply interwoven. Investigating the Safe Schools Initiative without reviewing these complementary bodies will result in fragmented legislative oversight,” Kalu said.

He noted that broadening the committee’s mandate had become necessary to enable the Senate produce a comprehensive and actionable report capable of strengthening accountability, protecting Nigerian students and ensuring transparency in the management of intervention funds.

Under the expanded mandate, the committee will evaluate financial flows, operational challenges and accountability mechanisms across the Safe Schools Initiative and the affected agencies.

It will also review social safety net allocations linked to school feeding programmes, emergency relief interventions for displaced students and educational rehabilitation initiatives implemented through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and NSIPA.

The committee is further expected to audit infrastructure and security-related projects funded by TETFund in beneficiary tertiary institutions, assess NELFUND’s loan disbursement process, operational readiness, administrative efficiency and student access framework, and examine UBEC’s interventions in basic education.

Explaining the request for more time, Kalu said the committee had been unable to complete visits to several critical locations due to its extensive workload and other legislative commitments.

“We’re supposed to submit our report, and there are four key areas that were not done. I needed the permission of the Senate so that we can conclude it in the next two or three weeks and come back with a report,” he said.

Following Kalu’s presentation, Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the request to a voice vote, and lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the committee’s request for a three-week extension.

The Senate inaugurated the Ad-hoc Committee in December 2025 amid growing concerns over persistent attacks on schools despite years of funding commitments and policy interventions aimed at protecting educational institutions across the country.

The investigation was further prompted by the abduction of 25 female students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, during which bandits reportedly killed the school’s vice principal, reigniting concerns over the safety of students and teachers in vulnerable communities.

The Safe Schools Initiative was established in May 2014 following the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State. The programme, a partnership between the Federal Government, the United Nations and private sector stakeholders, was designed to strengthen security infrastructure around schools, particularly in conflict-prone areas.

The Senate’s ongoing investigation has already raised concerns over the utilisation of funds released for the initiative. During an earlier investigative hearing, the committee questioned the disbursement of ₦15 billion released in 2023 for the programme, with the Nigerian Police Force receiving the largest allocation of ₦6.225 billion.

Other allocations disclosed included ₦3.362 billion to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), ₦2.250 billion to Defence Headquarters and ₦519 million to the Federal Ministry of Education, while the amount released to the Department of State Services (DSS) was not publicly disclosed.

The committee also queried alleged financial irregularities and consultancy expenditures under the programme and directed the Safe Schools Financing Office to submit a reconciled breakdown of all funds released, expenditures incurred, contractors engaged and supporting documentation relating to the Central Bank of Nigeria Trust Fund account.

The National Coordinator of Financing Safe Schools in Nigeria, Hajia Halima Iliya, had earlier informed the committee that the initiative received contributions from both domestic and international partners, including $10 million each from the Federal Government and Nigerian business leaders, $1 million from the African Development Bank, €2 million from the German Government, $4 million from the Norwegian Government through UNICEF, as well as additional support from USAID, the Qatar Foundation and United Nations agencies.

With the expanded mandate, the committee is expected to provide a more comprehensive assessment of how education and humanitarian intervention funds are being utilised across relevant institutions and determine whether existing programmes are effectively addressing the safety, welfare and educational needs of Nigerian students.