President Bola Tinubu has approved the formation of a Special Presidential Panel, led by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun in a bid to enhance the efficiency and transparency of social investment programmes.

The announcement comes after the six-week suspension of four programmes under the National Social Investment Programmes Agency.

According to a statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Presidential Panel will conduct a comprehensive review and audit of the financial frameworks and policy guidelines of the social investment programmes.

The goal is to implement a complete re-engineering of the financial architecture with detailed modifications to procedures guiding the programmes’ implementation moving forward.

“President Tinubu anticipates that this Special Presidential Panel will validate the confidence reposed in it by winning back all lost public confidence in these vital programmes over the years by ushering in a new era of operation based on open and accountable governance frameworks that will prove impervious to abuse and incompetence for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households across our nation,” Ngelale stated.

The panel, which represents a multi-disciplinary approach to reform, includes ministers from strategic sectors:

1. Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance – Chairman
2. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare – Member
3. Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning – Member
4. Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation – Member
5. Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy – Member
6. Honourable Minister of State for Youth – Member