Senate Debates Bill To Transfer Monitoring Of NSIP To Office Of President

The Nigerian Senate has commenced the process to amend the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act 2022, with the goal of transferring supervision of the programmes under the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to the Presidency.

The amendment bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act 2022”, was sponsored by the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The bill seeks to amend sections of the NSIP Act to place the NSIP Agency directly under the Office of the President.

In leading the debate on Tuesday, Senator Bamidele explained that the amendment aims to ensure the social investment programmes are more effective, transparent and accountable under the direct supervision of the President. He noted that the move aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to making the programmes more impactful in lifting Nigerians out of poverty.

The social intervention schemes to be affected include the N-Power programme, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme.

Senator Bamidele added that transferring oversight of the NSIP to the Presidency will help fulfill Section 17(3) of the Nigerian Constitution on social welfare. The bill quickly passed second reading after majority of senators who contributed to the debate supported the amendment.

The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, referred the bill to the Senate Committee of the Whole for further legislative action. The amendment could see the NSIP Act significantly altered to place the social intervention agency directly under presidential oversight, if passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and assented to by the President.