Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on President Bola Tinubu to take the lead in addressing widespread poverty in the country, rather than merely urging governors to act.
In a statement on Sunday, Falana referenced the President’s remarks at a recent meeting with governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), where Tinubu acknowledged the harsh economic realities faced by Nigerians due to neoliberal policies.
Quoting the President, Falana noted, “Nigerians are still complaining at the grassroots. To you, the governors, you must wet the grass more and deliver progressive change to Nigerians. May God bless our democracy and grant us more fertile lands.”
However, Falana urged the Federal Government to move beyond appeals and instead demonstrate leadership by fully funding existing welfare programmes.
“Instead of begging state governments to ‘wet ground more’, President Bola Tinubu is urged to ensure that the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act is adopted and enacted into law by the 36 state governments,” he stated.
The senior lawyer stressed that rather than allocating billions for state house renovations, governments at all levels should focus on implementing impactful social policies to alleviate suffering among the masses.
Falana criticised the Federal Government for allocating ₦32.7 billion to the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) in 2025, noting that the amount pales in comparison to the ₦39 billion reportedly spent on the renovation of the International Conference Centre in Abuja.
“A government that recently claimed to have spent the sum of ₦39 billion for the renovation of the International Conference Centre at Abuja at the Federal Capital Territory cannot justify the allocation of ₦32.7 billion to fund the National Social Investment Programmes for 2025 to support the 133 million people that are said to be multi-dimensionally poor in the country,” he argued.
The National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), established under the 2023 Social Investment Programme Agency Act, is a federal initiative aimed at reducing poverty by funding key schemes such as N-Power for youth empowerment, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme for access to soft loans, the school feeding programme to tackle child malnutrition, and conditional cash transfers for vulnerable households.
Falana pointed out that the funds to support these programmes are available. He cited the ₦11.195 trillion disbursed to the 36 states, local governments, and the Federal Capital Territory in the past year through the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
The human rights lawyer also referenced a report by BudgIT, a civic tech organisation, which revealed that the 2025 federal budget was padded with 11,122 projects worth ₦6.93 trillion by the National Assembly. This, Falana noted, represents 12.5% of the ₦54.99 trillion budget signed into law by President Tinubu on February 28.
He questioned the credibility of a system where lawmakers receive massive monthly emoluments—₦21 million for senators and ₦15 million for members of the House of Representatives—while key social programmes are grossly underfunded.
Citing the recent approval of ₦3.5 trillion by the Federal Executive Council for roads, airports, and other infrastructure, Falana said the same urgency must be applied to the social sector.
“Therefore, the Federal Executive Council should, as a matter of urgency, approve not less than ₦5 trillion to fund the National Social Investment Programme,” he said.
The SAN recommended that the management of such a fund should not be left solely in the hands of government officials, but should involve elected representatives of trade unions and credible civil society organisations to ensure transparency and effectiveness.
