Falana Tells FG to Spend Recovered N32.7bn on Poverty Relief

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By Paulinus Sunday

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August 24, 2025 – Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the Federal Government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure that all recovered public funds are directed into social investment programmes to tackle poverty across the country.

Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), made the call in a statement issued on August 24, 2025. He criticised the Federal Government’s recent allocation of ₦32.7 billion to the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), describing it as inadequate compared to the level of economic hardship confronting citizens.

“The ₦32.7 billion allocated is paltry when measured against the reality of poverty in the country,” Falana said. He emphasised that directing recovered funds to social welfare initiatives would better serve Nigerians.

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The NSIP includes projects such as the home-grown school feeding programme, N-Power youth empowerment scheme, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) for small businesses, and conditional cash transfers to vulnerable households.

Falana noted 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 recovery effort, he urged the commission to transfer the funds directly to the NSIP Agency to strengthen its impact.

“This will go a long way in alleviating the harsh economic conditions of the over 133 million multidimensionally poor people in Nigeria,” Falana stated.

He further appealed to the Federal Government, the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory, and the 774 local governments to contribute collectively to funding the NSIP, especially as revenue inflows into the Federation Account have increased.

According to him, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared ₦2.001 trillion in July 2025 and ₦1.8 trillion in June. He urged political leaders to prioritise social welfare.

“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.

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