The Senate has granted a three-week extension to the ad hoc committee investigating the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) programme to conclude its assignment and present its report to the plenary.

It also expanded the committee’s scope to include investigation of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

Others are the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion at the plenary on Tuesday.

The motion brought under orders 41 and 51 of the Senate standing orders was sponsored by the committee chairman, Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia).

Mr Kalu, while presenting the motion, said preliminary investigations revealed a significant intersection between the implementation and funding mechanisms of the Safe Schools Initiative.

He said the intersection involved several federal institutions responsible for educational funding, student welfare, social intervention programmes and humanitarian support.

He said investigating the Safe Schools Initiative in isolation would result in an incomplete assessment of issues relating to school security, educational infrastructure and intervention 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,” Mr Kalu said.

He said expanding the committee’s mandate had become imperative.

According to him, this would enable the Senate to deliver a comprehensive and actionable report.

He said a comprehensive report would help strengthen accountability, safeguard Nigerian students and ensure transparency in the management of intervention funds.

He further said the committee would undertake a comprehensive evaluation of financial flows, operational bottlenecks and accountability structures across the safe schools initiative and the affected agencies.

“It will also review social safety net allocations connected to school feeding programmes.

“Emergency relief interventions for displaced students and educational rehabilitation initiatives,” he said.

He noted that the initiatives were administered through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and NSIPA.

“The committee is expected to audit infrastructure and security-related intervention projects funded by TETFund across beneficiary tertiary institutions.

“It will assess NELFUND’s disbursement processes, operational readiness, administrative efficiency and student access frameworks, while also examining interventions undertaken by UBEC in basic education,” he said.

Mr Kalu said time constraints arising from the committee’s extensive schedule and other legislative engagements had affected planned visits to some locations critical to the investigation.

“We are 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.

Responding, Senate President Godswill Akpabio sought the opinion of lawmakers on granting the committee additional time to conclude its work.

The Senate thereafter approved the committee’s request for a three-week extension.

 (NAN)