Falana to EFCC: Transfer Recovered N32.7bn, $445,000 to NSIPA for Social Welfare Programs

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately transfer the N32.7 billion and $445,000 it recovered from officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development to the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).

Falana made the call in a public statement released on August 24, 2025, through the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), which he chairs. He stressed that the funds should be returned to their intended destination in line with the EFCC’s stated policy of repurposing recovered loot for public benefit.

“In January 2025, President Bola Tinubu approved N32.7 billion for the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), covering school feeding, N-Power, conditional cash transfers, and small business support under the GEEP scheme,” Falana recalled.

He noted that while the EFCC had successfully recovered the same amount—N32.7 billion—and an additional $445,000 from allegedly corrupt ministry officials, the funds have yet to be redirected to NSIPA.

“We commend the EFCC and urge it to intensify efforts to recover the outstanding N20 billion still unaccounted for. But more importantly, the recovered N32.7 billion and $445,000 should be transferred to the National Social Investment Programme Agency to help alleviate the hardship faced by over 133 million multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians,” Falana stated.

He further urged all levels of government—federal, state, and local—to increase their funding support for the NSIP, especially in light of rising national revenues. According to Falana, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursed N2.001 trillion in July 2025 and N1.8 trillion in June from gross totals of N3.836 trillion and N3.123 trillion, respectively.

“Governments must go beyond lip service and invest meaningfully in social protection programmes. They must put their money where their mouth is,” he concluded.

Falana’s comments come amid growing public demand for transparency and accountability in the handling of social welfare funds, following several high-profile corruption scandals in the sector.