Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has declared that the Federal Government is under a legal obligation, not an act of charity, to provide cash transfers, grants and other social protection interventions to poor and vulnerable Nigerians under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2023.

Falana, who is the Chairman of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond warned that the FG could face legal action if it fails to fund poverty reduction programmes in the 2026 fiscal year as required by law.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the senior lawyer said recent public discussions on poverty alleviation, sparked by comments made by Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, should focus on the government’s statutory responsibility to tackle poverty rather than on individual efforts alone.

According to Falana, the law establishing the National Social Investment Programme Agency makes it mandatory for the Federal Government to implement programmes aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment across the country.

“It has become necessary to direct the attention of the Nigerian people to the National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2023, which has imposed a legal obligation on the Federal Government to reduce poverty and unemployment,” he said.

He added: “Giving grants to poor and vulnerable people in society is no longer borne out of political interests. It has become the government’s legal obligation to citizens, not acts of charity or generosity.”

Falana’s remarks come days after the First Lady urged Nigerians not to lose hope despite prevailing economic challenges, saying that small-scale businesses such as selling akara (bean cakes), roasting corn and producing kulikuli require little capital and can provide a source of livelihood.

She also said her empowerment programmes had focused on providing grants rather than loans to enable beneficiaries to start small businesses.

While acknowledging the initiative, Falana noted that many Nigerians had rejected the suggestion that such businesses alone could lift citizens out of poverty, insisting that the more fundamental issue is the government’s constitutional and statutory obligation to provide social protection.

He explained that the NSIPA Act established the National Social Investment Programme Agency to coordinate interventions targeted at vulnerable citizens, unemployed youths and small business owners through four flagship programmes.

These include the N-Power Programme for youth employment and skills acquisition; the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme for the poorest and most vulnerable households; the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which comprises TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni; and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).

According to him, the law also requires NSIPA to work with State Social Investment Programme Agencies to implement poverty reduction and social protection initiatives nationwide.

Falana recalled that allegations of widespread fraud under the previous administration led President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to forward a bill to the National Assembly seeking to transfer the management of the social investment programmes from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to the Presidency.

He said the proposed amendment is intended to improve transparency, strengthen accountability and ensure that beneficiaries are identified through the National Social Register.

However, he noted that the amendment bill has yet to be passed by the National Assembly.

Pending its passage, Falana urged the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to regularly brief Nigerians on the implementation of poverty reduction programmes.

He also called on Nigerians to demand periodic reports from State Social Investment Programme Agencies on efforts being made to reduce poverty and support vulnerable households.

“The National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2023 is designed to ensure the enforcement of Section 16 of the Constitution, which directs the Nigerian State to control the national economy to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen,” he said.

Citing official statistics, Falana noted that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) estimates that about 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor, while PwC Nigeria has projected that the figure could rise to 141 million people, representing about 62 per cent of the country’s population.

He warned that failure by the Federal Government to adequately fund poverty reduction programmes in 2026 would leave ASCAB with no option but to seek judicial intervention.

“The refusal of the Federal Government to fund poverty reduction programmes in 2026 in line with the provisions of the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act will be challenged by ASCAB at the Federal High Court,” Falana said.

NSIPA was established through the National Social Investment Programme Agency (Establishment) Act, 2023 to institutionalise Nigeria’s social protection programmes and ensure continuity in poverty reduction initiatives. The law provides the legal framework for implementing the Federal Government’s flagship interventions, including cash transfers to poor households, youth employment schemes, microcredit programmes and school feeding.

The social investment programme came under intense scrutiny following allegations of financial mismanagement during the previous administration, prompting the Tinubu administration to propose reforms aimed at strengthening transparency, improving accountability and enhancing the delivery of social welfare programmes through the National Social Register. (Sunday PUNCH)

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