We Didn’t Call Buhari’s Social Investment Programmes Failure -NASS

The leadership of the National Assembly has denied ever describing the National Social Investment Programmes, NSIP, embarked upon by the President Muhammadu Buhari government as a failure.
National Assembly leadership comprising the Senate President , Ahmed Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila were earlier quoted to have said that the INSIP gulped N2 trillion while under Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo .
Reacting to the statement credited to the National Assembly leadership, the Presidency expressed shock that such comments could come from Lawan and Gbajabiamila.
The National Assembly has now debunked the report, saying that its leadership was misquoted by some national dailies.
“Our attention has been drawn to some newspaper reports on its meeting with the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, which held on Tuesday 7th April, 2020.
“The leadership of the National Assembly had called the meeting as part of the legislature’s collaborations with the executive arm of government for effective management of the Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria and mitigation of the harsh effects of the measures adopted in this respect on Nigerians.
“The focus of the said meeting was the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), which is the vehicle that government is using to convey its palliative packages to the most vulnerable Nigerians against the backdrop of the lockdown called in many parts of the country to check the spread of the deadly disease. It is worth noting that NSIP has been in existence since 2016 and has been pursuing President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to alleviate the conditions of especially the poorest in society.
“At the meeting with the minister, the leadership of the National Assembly made some observations on aspects of the NSIP and recommended that the implementation process be finetuned and the scheme be backed with legislation to make it more efficient, effective and accord with global best practices.”