A coalition of support groups Forever Initiative’, has condemned the suspension of the National Co-ordinator / Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Agency, NSIPA, Ms Halima Shehu, saying the action did not follow due process. The coalition also queried why Shehu, who hails from the Northern part of the country, would be immediately replaced with Akindele Egbuwalo, a kinsman of President Bola Tinubu.
At a news conference in Abuja, President of the coalition, Comrade Obande Gideon Obande said as an opposition coalition, the group had earlier raised the alarm about the fidelity of the National Social Register, saying it was evident that fictitious names were being enrolled. “Today, the Honourable Minister is enjoying her holiday while the National Co-ordinator and CEO of NSIPA is being sacrificed. If the government is sincere, the Honourable Minister should have been suspended alongside the National Co-ordinator and CEO of NSIPA to pave way for effective investigation. Because we are aware that there have been direct dealings of the Minister with the coordinators instead of reporting to the National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer of NSIPA, they report directly to the Minister. Let it be on record, that once government is formed, it is the responsibility of all Nigerians irrespective of political affiliations, it is of our interest as Nigerians to set the records straight especially now that the federal government is derailing.
We are aware that the Federal Government is not ready to address some critical issues raised by Nigerians like the ongoing debate on the bogus N28 trillion 2024 budget and its realisation, the expansion of the National Social Register which the Minister of Humanitarian is handling unilaterally without due process and the availability of the application form to deserving Nigerians. “It is wrong for Mr President to approve the suspension of Ms Hailma Shehu and immediately replace her with a yoruba man instead of the most senior civil servant in her agency which is from the North. It is also very undeserving that Mr President would approve a suspension of his appointee without investigations or setting up an investigative panel to unravel the allegations that must have led to the suspension. However, information at our disposal revealed that the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation may have question to answer as Ms Halima had worked with her for three years when she was the APC National Woman Leader and possibly influenced her appointment at NSIPA. What must have gone wrong? We want President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to quickly intervene and address Nigerians if truly there are missing funds and how the funds got missing.
We wish to call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to look into the suspension of Ms Halima Shehu with a view to reversing it especially with the speedy appointment of Mr President’s kinsman Akindele Egbuwalo as her replacement”, the coalition added.
