The Senate has broadened the scope of its continuous investigation into the Safe Schools Effort (SSI) to consist of 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 Hardship Alleviation, and the National Social Financial Investment Program Company (NSIPA).
The upper legislative chamber likewise granted its advertisement hoc committee an additional three weeks to conclude the investigation.
The resolution followed a motion moved by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North and chairman of the Senate ad hoc committee examining the Safe Schools Effort.
Providing the movement, Kalu said initial findings exposed that the implementation and funding of the effort are closely connected to numerous government firms accountable for education funding, student well-being and social intervention programs.
According to him, restricting the examination to the Safe Schools Effort alone would not offer a total picture of the difficulties impacting school security, instructional infrastructure and support for susceptible learners.
He explained that the expanded required would enable the committee to examine financing flows, operational challenges and accountability mechanisms throughout the afflicted agencies to ensure openness and improve the efficiency of government interventions.
The committee is likewise anticipated to review social safeguard allowances linked to school feeding programmes, emergency relief for displaced students and educational rehabilitation efforts handled by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and NSIPA.
In addition, the panel will examine facilities and security tasks moneyed by TETFund, evaluate NELFUND’s loan disbursement process and operational efficiency, and examine UBEC’s interventions in basic education.
Kalu requested additional time to finish sees to crucial areas, noting that four critical aspects of the examination were yet to be concluded.
Reacting, Senate President Godswill Akpabio observed that the committee might have presented an interim report however consequently put the request to a voice vote. Legislators unanimously approved both the growth of the committee’s required and the three-week extension.
The Senate inaugurated the ad hoc committee in December 2025 to examine the execution of the Safe Schools Initiative following relentless attacks on schools in spite of years of funding. The probe was further prompted by the kidnapping of 25 female students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, during which the school’s vice-principal was apparently killed.
The Safe Schools Initiative was launched in 2014 following the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State. It was developed through a partnership involving the Federal government, the United Nations and private sector stakeholders to strengthen security in schools, particularly in conflict-affected neighborhoods.