Nigeria’s Senate has widened its investigation into the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative to include major education funding and social intervention agencies, as lawmakers intensify scrutiny of public spending on school security and student welfare.
The upper chamber on Tuesday approved an expansion of the mandate of its ad hoc committee to cover the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).
The committee, chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, was also granted an additional three weeks to complete its investigation after lawmakers agreed that limiting the probe to the Safe Schools Initiative would not provide a comprehensive picture of education funding and student protection programmes.
Kalu told the Senate that the expanded investigation would examine financial flows, operational challenges and accountability mechanisms across the agencies, arguing that school security, educational infrastructure, student financing and social intervention programmes are closely linked.
The Safe Schools Initiative was launched following the 2014 abduction of more than 270 schoolgirls from Chibok in northeastern Nigeria to improve security at schools vulnerable to attacks by armed groups. The Senate constituted the 13-member committee in November 2025 to investigate the utilisation of more than $30 million allocated to the programme amid persistent insecurity and attacks on educational institutions.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio approved the request after a voice vote, directing the committee to submit its findings within the extended deadline. Lawmakers said the probe is expected to strengthen oversight, improve transparency in the management of intervention funds and enhance accountability across Nigeria’s education sector.
