The Federal government has put forward a proposition to inject an extra N5bn into the Safe Schools Initiative in the 2026 spending plan, in spite of installing analysis from the National Assembly over the program’s efficiency and claims of fund mismanagement.
Details of the proposed allocation, noted under Capital Supplements in your house of Representatives Order Paper dated March 31, 2026, were obtained on Wednesday.
The relocation comes as legislators magnify oversight of the effort, expressing concerns that duplicated attacks on schools continue regardless of years of financial investment and policy interventions.
Previously, the Senate directed a major investigation into the program, promising to examine all funds released considering that its creation in 2014. The probe follows a surge in school kidnappings and growing public doubt about whether the initiative is providing on its required.
Federal government projections show that about N144.7 bn will have been invested in the program in between 2023 and 2026. Out of this figure, N82.9 bn is earmarked for security firms to cover procurement of arms, training, devices, and functional logistics.
Under the National Plan on Financing Safe Schools, the Federal Government is expected to contribute N119.83 bn, while state governments are predicted to supply N24.93 bn.
A breakdown of dispensations reveals that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps got N5bn in 2023, N5.25 bn in 2024, N5.51 bn in 2025, and a projected N5.79 bn in 2026.
Similarly, Defence Head office was assigned N4bn in 2023, N200m in 2024, N4.41 bn in 2025, and N4.63 bn for 2026. The Nigeria Police received N5.73 bn in 2023, N6.01 bn in 2024, N6.31 bn in 2025, and a predicted N6.63 bn in 2026.
The Department of State Services was assigned N5.29 bn in 2023, N5.55 bn in 2024, N5.83 bn in 2025, and is expected to receive N6.78 bn in 2026.
The Safe Schools Effort was presented following the kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok, with the aim of reinforcing security in susceptible schools, particularly in high-risk states such as Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, and Niger. It was later on expanded to cover organizations across the country.
Regardless of these efforts, attacks on schools have actually continued, including a current abduction occurrence in Kebbi State, raising fresh issues about accountability and the programme’s effect.
Security analyst Oladele Fajana safeguarded the scale of financing for security, stating that no amount allocated to safeguarding lives and home ought to be considered extreme if effectively used.
He, however, worried the need for strict oversight to guarantee funds are efficiently deployed and the effort attains its goals.
Another expert, Jackson Ojo, associated relentless insecurity to corruption, arguing that mismanagement of resources weakens efforts to secure schools.
He called for a comprehensive review of previous spending before authorizing extra funds, insisting that responsibility should be prioritised.
Ojo likewise raised concerns about the absence of standard security facilities in numerous schools, questioning how many institutions have practical border fencing efficient in deterring attacks.