Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has urged the Federal Government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure that recovered public funds are channelled directly into social investment programmes to address widespread poverty in the country.
Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), made the call in a statement dated August 24, 2025.
He criticised the government’s recent allocation of ₦32.7 billion for the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), describing the amount as “paltry” considering the scale of hardship faced by Nigerians.
The NSIP covers initiatives such as the home-grown school feeding programme, N-Power youth empowerment, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) for small businesses, and conditional cash transfers.
Falana recalled that the EFCC had earlier recovered ₦32.7 billion and $445,000 looted by senior officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.
While commending the anti-graft agency for the recovery, he urged it to transfer the funds to the NSIP Agency to better support vulnerable Nigerians.
“This will go a long way in alleviating the harsh economic conditions of the over 133 million multidimensionally poor people in Nigeria,” he said.
The senior advocate also called on the Federal Government, the 36 state governments, the Federal Capital Territory, and all 774 local governments to jointly fund the NSIP, especially in light of rising revenue inflows into the Federation Account.
He noted that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared ₦2.001 trillion in July 2025 and ₦1.8 trillion in June, urging leaders to prioritise social welfare over token gestures.
“All tiers of government should go beyond tokenism on this very important question of social investment.
“They should put their money where their mouth is in implementing the policy,” Falana said.
