Senate questions ministers on $30m School Safety project

File: National Assembly Complex

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The Senate on Wednesday intensified its probe into the collapse of the Safe School Initiative by summoning key government officials to explain why the $30m scheme failed to protect Nigerian schoolchildren from relentless attacks.

Among those invited were the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, the Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, and the Defence Minister, Gen Christopher Musa.

The summons was issued by the Senate ad hoc committee on the Safe School Initiative, chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North), following the adoption of its work plan during its maiden sitting.

Edun and the other officials are to appear before the committee next Tuesday.

Conceived in 2014 at the peak of Boko Haram’s school attacks, the Safe School Initiative was expected to fortify learning environments nationwide.

But more than a decade later, and after millions of dollars and billions of naira in funding, schools across the country remain vulnerable, with kidnapping cases surging.

Addressing journalists after the committee’s inauguration, Kalu said the Senate was determined to uncover why the initiative collapsed despite substantial domestic and international backing.

“It is unacceptable that our schools remain soft targets for terrorists and kidnappers,” he said, noting that over 1,680 schoolchildren had been kidnapped and 180 schools attacked since 2014.

He vowed that the committee would follow the money trail without compromise.

“We will track every naira and every dollar allocated to the Safe School Initiative, some of which were the $30m mobilised between 2014 and 2021, aside from the latest N144bn released for the initiative by the federal government.

“Nigerians deserve to know why, despite enormous investment and global support, our schools remain unsafe.

“The committee will undertake a comprehensive financial and operational audit, engaging federal ministries, state governments, security agencies, and civil society partners,” he added.

Kalu stressed that the probe was not a witch-hunt but an attempt to restore accountability and rebuild public confidence.

The committee, he said, “owes Nigerian parents the responsibility to guarantee that their children can pursue education without fear.”

The Senate will also examine how Safe School Initiative funds have been used since 2014, assess security personnel deployment, review early-warning and emergency-response systems, evaluate infrastructure upgrades in vulnerable schools, and scrutinise partnerships with international donors and private-sector contributors.

Apart from the ministers and security chiefs, school proprietors and other stakeholders are also expected to testify before the panel.

The renewed legislative scrutiny follows fresh nationwide outrage after the recent abduction of 25 female students from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State and the kidnapping of more than 200 pupils from St Mary Catholic School in Niger State.

Both attacks have revived public concerns over why, 10 years after its launch, the Safe School Initiative has failed to deliver on its central promise—ensuring that Nigerian children can learn without the fear of abduction or violence.

The PUNCH journalist, Adebayo, has over 20 years of experience covering politics, health, metro, entertainment and properties

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