The Senate has expanded its investigation into the Safe Schools Initiative to include the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).
Lawmakers also extended by three weeks the lifespan of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee investigating the initiative to enable it conclude its assignment.
The resolution followed a motion moved on Tuesday by the committee chairman, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North), who sought an extension of the committee’s mandate and an expansion of its terms of reference.
Presenting the motion, Kalu said preliminary findings revealed strong links between the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative and the activities of agencies responsible for education funding, student welfare, humanitarian interventions and social investment programmes.
“The issues surrounding student security, educational infrastructure funding and social intervention schemes for vulnerable learners across the country are deeply interwoven. Investigating the Safe Schools Initiative without reviewing these complementary bodies will result in fragmented legislative oversight,” he said.
According to him, broadening the investigation would enable the Senate to produce a comprehensive report aimed at improving accountability, strengthening student safety and ensuring transparency in the management of intervention funds.
Under the expanded mandate, the committee will examine funding flows, operational challenges and accountability mechanisms across the Safe Schools Initiative and the affected agencies.
The panel will also review social intervention funds for school feeding programmes, emergency support for displaced students and educational rehabilitation projects implemented through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and NSIPA.
In addition, it will audit security and infrastructure projects funded by TETFund, assess NELFUND’s loan disbursement process, operational efficiency and students’ access to education loans, as well as review UBEC’s interventions in basic education.
Kalu told lawmakers the committee required additional time to complete key aspects of the investigation.
“We’re supposed to submit our report, and there are four key areas that were not done. I needed the permission of the Senate so that we can conclude it in the next two or three weeks and come back with a report,” he said.
The Senate, after a voice vote presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, unanimously approved the committee’s request for a three-week extension.
The ad hoc committee was inaugurated in December 2025 to investigate the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative amid growing concerns over attacks on schools despite years of government funding.
Its investigation gained renewed urgency following the abduction of 25 female students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, during which the school’s vice principal was reportedly killed.
The committee has already scrutinised the disbursement of ₦15 billion released for the initiative in 2023 and queried alleged financial irregularities, consultancy payments and the management of funds under the programme.
With its expanded mandate, the Senate committee is expected to present a broader assessment of how education, security and humanitarian intervention funds are being utilised and whether the programmes are effectively improving the safety, welfare and education of Nigerian students.
