N1.7 bn Probe: House of Reps Back Down On Osinbajo |The Source

By Fola James

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo can at least breathe a sigh of relief following disclosure by the House of Representatives that he’s not the target of ongoing probe of the National Social Investment Programme, NSIP, responsible for providing support for Nigerians in times of crisis and natural disasters.

The programme, until recently is under Maryam Uwais, Special Adviser to the President on the NSIP.

It has now been domiciled under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, created by President Muhammadu Buhari last year, headed by Hajia Sadiq Umar Farouq

The lawmakers are investigating the N1.79tn budgeted for the programme in 2019 and has summoned the immediate past Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; the incumbent Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; and Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to make presentations.

Osinbajo has been variously mentioned as the target of the probe, even though the nation’s number two man has denied spending funds allocated to the agency, which his Office supervised between 2016 and 2019.

“The Office of the Vice President WAS NOT involved in financial transactions or the disbursement of funds for the SIPs.

The Ministry of Budget and National Planning, was in charge of all matters regarding financing, budgeting, procurement and disbursement of funds allocated and released for the N-SIPs,” Laolu Akande, the Vice President Spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday.

Speaking on the probe on Tuesday, Chairman,  House Committee on Public Accounts, Wole Oke, said Vice President Osinbajo is not being investigated over alleged misappropriation of NSIP funds.

The committee chairman said “By our records, the Office of the Vice President is responsible for policy formulation and monitoring of the National Social Investment Programmes.

We have it on record that the Ministry of Budget and National Planning handled all issues of procurement from 2016 to September 2019 when the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs was created.”

Osinbajo is not under probe, Oke said

According to him “A total of N1.79tn was budgeted for the programme, for which over N600m was expended.”

Our interest now is on the Home Grown School Feeding Programme and that is what the ministry is to give us records of procurement.We are not available for anybody to use to malign anybody. We want to put that on record that we are not investigating the office of the Vice President.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Humanitarians Affairs and Disaster Management, Hajia Sadiq Umar Farouq has been criticised over her comment that no Nigerian was left out of the COVID 19 relief package by the federal government.

The country has over 200 million people, most of who reside in rural areas. “We didn’t get the packages,” many of them told the magazine.