NSIP: Osinbajo not under probe – Reps

The probe of the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) of the Federal Government is not about Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the House of Representatives has said.

Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts Wole Oke stated this on Tuesday in Abuja when the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning Olusola Idowu appeared before the panel.

The committee had last week 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 Sadiya Farouq, to account for a total sum of N1.7tn appropriated for the implementation of the NSIP from 2016 to September 2019.

The summons also included the incumbent and former permanent secretaries and desk officers involved in the implementation of the NSIPs in both the ministries and the National Social Investment Office.

Mr Okeke said the House knew Osinbajo’s office was only responsible for policy formulation and monitoring of the programme.

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

“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.

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

He added, “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.”

Oke, however, asked the permanent secretary and her team to meet a three-man sub-committee set up to reconcile the ministry’s audit queries and report back.