The Senate has summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for Economy, Wale Edun, over the failure of the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) to meet the goal of keeping schools safe despite the government investing more than $30 million in it.
Also summoned were the Minister of Education, Mr. Tunji Alausa; Minister of Defense, General Christopher Musa (retd); Commanding General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Service (NSCDC), Dr. Mohammed Abubakar Audi; and representatives of school owners.
The Senate AdHoc Committee investigating the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI), headed by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, said the trend of attacks on schools highlighted concerns about the failure of the program to address the purpose for which it was introduced.
On Wednesday, the committee said at least 1,680 schoolchildren had been kidnapped in Nigeria since 2014, when the Chibok girls incident occurred. Similarly, terrorists attacked around 180 school facilities in the same period, according to their AdHoc Committee investigating the implementation of the Safe School Initiative (SSI).
Speaking after the inaugural meeting of the committee in Abuja, Senator Kalu promised that the committee would expose all issues related to the poor performance of the SSI. He declared: “It is unacceptable that our schools continue to be easy targets for terrorists and kidnappers.
“We will track every naira and every dollar allocated to the Safe Schools Initiative, some of which were the $30 million mobilized between 2014 and 2021, in addition to the latest N144 billion released for the initiative by the federal government.
“Nigerians deserve to know why, despite enormous investment and global support, our schools remain unsafe.
“The committee will carry out a comprehensive financial and operational audit, involving federal ministries, state governments, security agencies and civil society partners.”
The committee planned to carry out a comprehensive financial and operational audit, involving federal ministries, state governments, security agencies and civil society organizations. The review will examine how funds have been used since 2014, the deployment and effectiveness of security personnel, early warning and emergency response systems, infrastructure improvements in vulnerable schools, and collaborations with international donors and private sector partners.
Kalu emphasized that the investigation is not directed at individuals or institutions but is intended to improve accountability.
This investigation was prompted by the recent national outrage over the kidnapping of 25 students of the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, where the deputy principal of the school was also killed by bandits.
During the plenary session, legislators questioned the use of Safe School Initiative funds in the face of continued security failures, he explained.