Edugate: Tinubu raises panel to probe N-power, others

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Special Presidential Panel to audit the social investment programmes.

The panel is chaired by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Wale Edun.

His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, announced this in a statement on Saturday.

The setting up of the panel followed the suspension of all administered Social Investment Programmes by the National Social Investment Programme Agency which also includes the schoolfeeding programme.

The president had earlier suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu and the CEO of NSIPA, Halima Shehu, following the scandal rocking the handling of funds for the social investment programmes.

Ngelale said the establishment of the panel was sequel to President Tinubu’s six-week suspension of the four programmes under the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA).

He said the Special Presidential Panel was tasked with undertaking a comprehensive review and audit of existing financial frameworks and policy guidelines of the social investment programmes with a view to implementing a total re-engineering of the financial architecture of the programmes with detailed modification to procedures guiding the programmes’ implementation moving forward.

He added that the Special Presidential Panel, which was comprised of ministers representing strategic sectors and will ensure a multidisciplinary approach to the reform effort, was made up of Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Chairman; Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, member; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu, member; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, member; Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, member; and Minister of State for Youth, Ayodele Olawande, member.