President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday assented to the National Social Investment Programme Agency Bill recently passed by the National Assembly to institutionalize the country’s Social Protection policy.
The National Social Investment Programme was introduced at the onset of the Buhari administration in 2015 and supervised by the Office of the Vice President before it was transferred to a full fledged ministry in 2019.
Ahead of the APC winning the 2015 Presidential Election, the party had formed a Committee to put together its manifesto where Prof. Osinbajo and others had articulated the social welfare concept. Also in 2016, with the Buhari administration in place, Osinbajo again played leading roles in the approval of the policy in the Buhari cabinet and then the President asked him to supervise it in the first term.
Under Prof. Osinbajo’s supervision, the various components of the scheme – N-Power Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer, Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, the National Social Register, among others, recorded significant progress, impacting Nigerians across the country and winning international and global accolades.
The new Act as signed by President Buhari, now provides a legal and institutional framework for the establishment and management of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) in Nigeria.
The President had assented to seven other Bills that were passed by the National Assembly, in furtherance of the provisions of the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
A statement signed yesterday by the Senior Special Assistant to The President on National Assembly Matters, Senate, Senator Babajide Omoworare said, the National Senior Secondary Education Act, one of the Acts signed by the President, establishes a Commission, prescribes minimum standards for senior secondary education in Nigeria and the management of National Senior Secondary Education Fund.
The new Administration will be expected to build on and expand the various existing programs – cash transfer, jobs/skills/vocational training, school feeding, the National Social Register, among others.
It would be recalled that in November 2022, Buhari transmitted of the National Social Investment Programme Establishment Bill for consideration of the Senate.
