The Senate has extended by three weeks the lifespan of its ad hoc committee investigating the Safe Schools Initiative, while broadening the scope of the probe to include the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
The Senate on Tuesday extended by three weeks the lifespan of its ad hoc committee investigating the Safe Schools Initiative and broadened the scope of the probe to include the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Others billed for probe are the Universal Basic Education Commission, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the National Social Investment Programme Agency.
The red chamber said the expansion was aimed at conducting a comprehensive investigation into the funding, implementation and accountability of education and social intervention programmes linked to the safety and welfare of students across the country.
The resolution followed a motion moved by the Chairman of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on the Safe Schools Initiative, 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 committee’s terms of reference and additional time to conclude its assignment.
Presenting the motion, Kalu told lawmakers that preliminary investigations had revealed strong links between the implementation and funding of the Safe Schools Initiative and several government agencies responsible for educational funding, student welfare, humanitarian interventions and social investment programmes. He said limiting the investigation to the Safe Schools Initiative alone would prevent the Senate from carrying out a comprehensive assessment of issues affecting school security and educational interventions.
He explained that the issues surrounding student security, educational infrastructure funding and social intervention schemes for vulnerable learners across the country were deeply interwoven, and warned that investigating the Safe Schools Initiative without reviewing these complementary bodies would result in fragmented legislative oversight.
He added that broadening the committee’s mandate had become necessary to enable the Senate to produce a comprehensive report that could strengthen accountability, safeguard students, and improve 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 for displaced students and educational rehabilitation initiatives implemented through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and NSIPA.
The panel is further expected to audit infrastructure and security-related intervention projects funded by TETFund in tertiary institutions, assess NELFUND’s disbursement processes, operational readiness, administrative efficiency, and students’ access to education loans, and examine UBEC’s interventions in basic education.
Seeking the Senate’s approval, Kalu said the committee required additional time because some critical aspects of the investigation had yet to be completed due to its extensive workload and other legislative engagements. He explained that the committee was supposed to submit its report but that four key areas remained outstanding, and that he needed the Senate’s permission to conclude the work within the next two to three weeks and return with a full report.
