When Boko Haram terrorists abducted 276 school girls in Chibok, Borno State in 2014, one of the fallouts was the initiation of the Safe Schools Project and the subsequent launch of the Safe Schools Fund to implement policies and projects that are expected to prevent the recurrence of abduction of students and others in our schools.
The seed money raised for the project shortly after it was launched was over $30 million, raised from contributions and donations by the Federal Government, foreign donor agencies among others. But after what was a lull in the mass abduction of students, the recent resurgence in the criminal act has led to questions being asked about the effectiveness of the Safe Schools Project and how the funds have been used.
The Senate recently set up a committee to probe how the funds realised have been utilised. The Senate was particular about recent allocations to security agencies like the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps among others.
The Senate’s Ad Hoc Committee, headed by Senator Orji Kalu, Abia North, demanded explanation on how Nigeria Police, which received the single largest tranche of N6.225 billion from the N15 billion disbursed in 2023, spent the money.
The Committee grilled the National Coordinator, Financing Safe Schools in Nigeria, Hajia Halima Iliya, over fund inflows, expenditure patterns, and the current state of the multi-agency security programme designed to protect schools from terrorist attacks and mass abductions.
The Committee ordered a full reconciliation of all financial records and directed the Safe Schools Financing office to return with a comprehensive and rectified breakdown of all funds released; all expenditures made; names and details of contractors who received funds and full documentation from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Trust Fund account.
Kalu emphasized that the committee would not proceed without clear, verifiable financial records.
Hajia Iliya listed major contributions to the CBN-domiciled Trust Fund to include the Federal Government: $10m (N1.5bn); Nigerian Business Leaders: $10m (N2bn); ADB: $1m (H”N 200m); German Government: €2m (H”N1bn); Norwegian Government: $4m (managed by UNICEF); UN Multi-Donor Trust Fund: Contributions from UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS; USAID & Qatar Foundation: $4m combined
The National Coordinator confirmed that in 2023, the Federal Government released N15 billion, allocated as follows: Nigeria Police Force – N6.225bn; NSCDC – N3.362bn; DSS – Amount not publicly stated during session; Defence Headquarters – N2.250bn and Federal Ministry of Education – N 519m
According to her, the Safe Schools financing had no budget in 2024 and 2025, explaining that her request for inclusion in the 2024 fiscal year got to the President too late.
Tension rises over consultancy costs
Trouble for the National Coordinator came when Senator Oluranti Idiat, APC, Lagos West, raised concerns that almost half of the N4.44bn previously reviewed in related documents had been spent on consultancy and operational expenses, nearly equaling what was spent on the core Safe School projects.
Idiat asked: “You have used almost half of N4.44 billion for consultancy and operational expenses, and spent about N4 billion on the project itself. Don’t you think that is why you are not getting another budget?”
Responding, Hajia Iliya who insisted that the referenced documents were not for the 2023 funding cycle, said: “This document I presented is out of respect for this committee. The document you are reading is for 2014, not 2023. The Safe Schools programme was launched in 2023 when the N15 billion was released.”
On his part, Senator Musa Maidoki, APC, Kebbi South raised a broader policy concern, saying: “We already have a budget for the Army, Police and others. Why give them another budget? If you have this money, release it only when they perform. Safe School funding must be domiciled in the community and not put where it is not needed.”
Also in his remarks, Senator Kenneth Eze (APC, Ebonyi Central) who raised the alarm that funds have been misappropriated, expressed skepticism about the authenticity and clarity of the financial submissions before the committee.
He added: “Funds have been misappropriated and we need to know. Anyone can draft this. The calculation of expenses raises serious concern especially the amount spent on consultancy.”
Stakeholders in the Education sector and indeed Nigerians, are waiting to hear how the people in Finance Safe Schools in Nigeria will respond to the queries raised by the Senate Committee, as everybody is concerned about the safety of students, teachers and others in our schools.
VANGUARD.
