Following the Betta Edu and Halima Shehu saga, President Bola Tinubu has appointed seven Nigerians to head strategic agencies and programmes under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development. ASHENEWS reports that these appointees are expected to restart social intervention programmes.
Presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale stated on Tuesday that the appointments were made to facilitate the needed relief for Nigerians and ensure the effectiveness of humanitarian and social development programmes.
- Badamasi Lawal – Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA). He holds a doctorate degree in education and previously served as a commissioner in Katsina State.
- Funmilola Olotu – Programme Manager, National Social Safety-Net Coordinating Office. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and is the senior special assistant to the governor of Lagos State on state lotteries.
- Aishat Alubankudi – Programme Manager, Grant for Vulnerable Groups. She holds a bachelor’s degree in community development and has experience as a risk assessor and financial manager.
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- Princess Aderemi Adebowale – Programme Manager, Home Grown School Feeding. He holds a doctorate degree and is the special adviser to the governor of Lagos State on civic engagement. She previously served as a local government chairperson.
- Abdullahi Imam – Programme Manager, National Cash Transfer Office. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accountancy and has served as chief accountant at Northern Dairies Ltd, and as a bank manager.
- Ayuba Gufwan – Executive Secretary, National Commission for People with Disabilities. He holds an LLB and is the executive director of the Beautiful Gate Handicapped People Centre in Jos.
- Binta Bello – Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons. She holds a master’s degree in public administration and has served as the secretary-general of ALGON, as well as a permanent secretary in both the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
“The President expects the new heads of these critical agencies and programmes to discharge the functions of their offices with utmost integrity and diligence so as to ensure that Nigerians, especially vulnerable groups, are the exclusive and direct beneficiaries of his administration’s reconfigured welfare programmes,” the statement said.
In April, the Federal Government disclosed plans to resume the intervention schemes coordinated by the NSIPA. On January 12, Tinubu suspended all programmes administered by NSIPA for six weeks, as part of a probe into alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its programmes.
Tinubu had also suspended Halima Shehu as CEO of NSIPA on January 2 over alleged financial malfeasance. Additionally, the president suspended Betta Edu as minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation on January 8. Edu’s ministry supervises the operations of the NSIPA.
The programmes affected by these suspensions include N-Power, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and the Home-Grown School Feeding Initiative.
