The Nigerian Senate yesterday expanded the scope of its investigation into the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) by including the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).

With the development, its Ad-hoc Committee on the Safe Schools Initiative now has an additional three weeks to conclude its assignment.

The resolution followed a motion by the committee’s chairman, Orji Uzor Kalu, which sought an expansion of the panel’s terms of reference and more time to complete the assignment.

Presenting the motion, Kalu said preliminary findings showed that the implementation and funding of the Safe Schools Initiative were closely linked with several federal institutions responsible for education financing, student welfare, humanitarian interventions and social investment programmes.

He argued that limiting the investigation to the Safe Schools Initiative alone would leave critical gaps in the Senate’s oversight.

“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,” Kalu said.

He added that expanding the committee’s mandate had become necessary to enable the Senate to produce a report capable of strengthening accountability, safeguarding students and ensuring transparency in the management of intervention funds.

Under the new mandate, the committee will examine 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, emergency relief for displaced students and educational rehabilitation programmes administered by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and NSIPA.

The committee is also expected to audit infrastructure and security intervention projects funded by TETFund, assess NELFUND’s loan disbursement processes, operational readiness, administrative efficiency and students’ access to the scheme, as well as evaluate UBEC’s interventions in basic education.

Seeking the extension, Kalu told his colleagues that the committee had yet to complete investigations in four critical areas because of time constraints and competing legislative assignments.

“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.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio thereafter put the request to a voice vote, with lawmakers overwhelmingly approving the three-week extension.

The Senate inaugurated the ad-hoc committee in December last year amid renewed concerns over persistent attacks on schools despite years of government funding and policy interventions aimed at protecting educational institutions.

The Safe Schools Initiative was established in May 2014 after the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State. It was conceived as a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations and private sector stakeholders to improve security around schools, particularly in conflict-prone communities.

During previous investigative hearings, the committee raised questions over the utilisation of the ₦15 billion released for the initiative in 2023.

The Nigerian Police Force received the largest allocation of ₦6.225 billion, while the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) got ₦3.362 billion.

Defence Headquarters received ₦2.250 billion, and the Federal Ministry of Education received ₦519 million.

The amount released to the Department of State Services (DSS) was not disclosed during the hearing.