House Probes Alleged Mismanagement of Safe Schools Initiative Funds

James Emejo

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a resolution to probe an alleged mismanagement of the Save Schools Initiative (SSI) Funds in the North-east zone.

It mandated the Committee on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Refugees and Initiatives on the North-east zone to investigate the extent of the funds collected, its management, custodian(s), and whether or not the funds have been applied for the purpose for which they were collected and report to the House within eight weeks for further legislative action.

It followed a motion moved by Hon. Shuaibu Abdulrahman on the need for investigations.

He said a global intervention fund named Save Schools Initiative (SSI), under the leadership of the Gordon Brown, the former British Prime Minister, was launched four years ago in the wake of horrific abduction of students of the Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State.

He noted that an undisclosed amount of funds were collected for the purpose of enhancing physical security around vulnerable schools against further abduction of students in boarding secondary schools in the North-east zone.

He, however, regretted that there is no evidence that such schools in the North-east zone are now secure and protected by trained security personnel or fortified with CCTV cameras, high perimeter fence, heavy duty electricity generators, etc., as provided for in the original concept of the Save Schools Initiative.

The lawmaker also expressed concern that the absence of security infrastructure in the North-east zone schools has recently led to another incident of abduction of students of the Government Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, which brought about embarrassment and attendant trauma on the Nigerian nation.