Advocate Falana Urges Tinubu to Allocate ₦5 Trillion for Social Programmes, Not Just Instruct Governors to Water the Lawn
Headline: Femi Falana Urges President Tinubu to Increase Funding for National Social Investment Programmes
Femi Falana, a renowned human rights lawyer, has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently increase funding for the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) to at least ₦5 trillion. In a series of public statements, Falana stressed the need for political will to prioritize social welfare over less critical expenditures, citing the disparity between lavish spending on lawmakers and underfunding of social programmes.
Falana advises that the administration of the NSIP funds should include representatives from labour unions and credible civil society groups to guarantee transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. He suggests that the management of such a fund should not be managed solely by government officials.
The lawyer also recommends that President Tinubu work with state governors to domesticate and enact the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act into law across all states. This move would provide legal backing and institutionalize social welfare schemes such as N-Power, school feeding, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), and conditional cash transfers.
In addition, Falana calls for a policy review and shift away from harsh economic policies influenced by the IMF and World Bank. He emphasizes that the government must "go back to the drawing board" so policies serve ordinary Nigerians and do not worsen inequality.
Falana's suggestions come at a time when Nigerian newspapers have reviewed their daily front pages for Sunday, 3rd August, 2025, revealing dissatisfaction among Nigerians with the pace of governance and the tangible benefits of democracy. The lawyer criticized the allocation of billions for state house renovations and questioned the credibility of a system where lawmakers receive significant monthly emoluments while key social programmes are underfunded.
The National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) is allocated ₦32.7 billion in 2025 to support over 100 million people, while ₦39 billion was spent on the renovation of the International Conference Centre in Abuja. Falana did not approve of the recent approval of ₦3.5 trillion by the Federal Executive Council for roads, airports, and other infrastructure, stating that more should be allocated to the NSIP.
In summary, Falana’s suggestions are:
- Increase NSIP funding drastically to at least ₦5 trillion.
- Involve labour unions and civil society in the management of social investment funds for transparency.
- Ensure the NSIP Agency Act is domesticated and enacted by all states to legally support social welfare programmes.
- Reassess and adjust economic policies to prioritize the welfare of vulnerable citizens over austerity measures.
- Lead by example by prioritizing social welfare over extravagant government spending like renovations on official buildings.
These measures, Falana argues, are essential to significantly alleviate poverty in Nigeria through effective National Social Investment Programmes.
- Femi Falana, a prominent human rights lawyer, urged President Tinubu to increase funding for the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) to at least ₦5 trillion.
- Falana advocated for representatives from labor unions and credible civil society groups to be involved in the administration of the NSIP funds for transparency and accountability.
- He suggested that the NSIP Agency Act should be domesticated and enacted by all states to provide legal backing for social welfare schemes.
- Falana recommended a policy review and a shift away from harsh economic policies influenced by the IMF and World Bank to prioritize the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.
- On the day's newspapers' review, August 3rd, 2025, Nigerians expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of governance and the tangible benefits of democracy, which Falana criticized.
- Falana believes that by prioritizing social welfare over extravagant government spending and implementing effective NSIP, Nigeria can significantly alleviate poverty.
