By Abbanobi -Eku Onyeka
Abuja
The Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Safe Schools Initiative on Friday commenced a probe into the administration of funds allocated to the federal government’s Safe Schools Initiative, including foreign grants, donor contributions, and budgetary appropriations.
At the opening session held at the National Assembly, Abuja, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, welcomed the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and members of his delegation, commending them for honouring the invitation.
Senator Kalu said the committee was set up to investigate how funds earmarked for the protection of schools were managed over the years. He noted that the assignment was not targeted at any individual, but was aimed at ensuring accountability in government.
“Government is a continuum. Whether these funds were released before the present minister assumed office or not, government remains responsible for accounting for every kobo entrusted to it,” Kalu stated.
The former Abia governor stressed that because school safety borders on national security, sensitive aspects of the probe would be held behind closed doors to avoid exposing operational details to criminals.
“Banditry, terrorism and attacks on schools are matters of national security. We will not discuss sensitive operational issues in the public because we do not want to expose information that could be useful to criminals,” he said.
In his remarks, Dr. Alausa thanked the committee and introduced top officials including the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The Minister disclosed that most of the major disbursements under investigation occurred between five and seven years ago, long before he assumed office. He added that since his appointment, only targeted interventions to the Nigeria Police Force and NSCDC had been made, and those were administered through the Ministry of Finance.
Dr. Alausa reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to securing schools, saying education is central to the Renewed Hope Agenda. “The President believes that education is not just part of the development agenda; it is at the very centre of national development,” he said.
He also announced that the Safe Schools Initiative has now been formally transferred from the Federal Ministry of Finance to the Federal Ministry of Education, with a new full-fledged Safe Schools Department created to coordinate policy and monitoring.
Committee members, including Vice Chairman Senator Sahabi Yau and Senator Anthony Ani, backed the decision to hold an executive session and said the probe was not a witch-hunt but a constitutional duty to ensure transparency.
In his closing remarks, Senator Kalu warned that public officials must remain accountable to Parliament. “This is the seat of democracy. Every minister appointed by the executive must be accountable to the representatives of the Nigerian people,” he said.
The committee thereafter adjourned into a closed session and said it was expecting the Minister of Finance to join the proceedings. Speaking to journalists afterwards, Dr. Alausa said the ministry was working with security agencies to develop a comprehensive national framework for school safety beyond just deploying personnel.
