TINUBU SUSPENDS HALIMA SHEHU, THE HEAD OF THE NSIPA

Babatunji Wusu –

Halima Shehu has been suspended from her roles as National Coordinator and CEO of the National Social Investment Program Agency (NSIPA) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Channels Television reports that the President issued an order replacing Shehu and granted her immediate suspension.

President Tinubu nominated Shehu in October 2023, and on October 18, 2023, the Senate ratified her appointment.

Shehu was the Conditional Cash Transfer Program’s National Coordinator. She oversaw the program’s digitalization using her background in banking and professional development.

From 2017 to 2022, the former banker was employed by the Federal Ministry of Social Development, Disaster Management, and Humanitarian Affairs.

Shehu received her First School Leaving Certificate from her birthplace of Kafin Dagi village in Katsina, Katsina State. She continued her secondary education at the Federal Government College in Kaduna State, where she also earned her West African Examination Certificate.

She subsequently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State, and a Master of Arts in International Affairs and Diplomacy from the same institution.

She finished the National Youth Service Corps required by the Petroleum Trust Fund in the Afri-Project Consortium after receiving her education. Shehu started her ten-year banking career following her NYSC, working first at the erstwhile Intercity Bank and then at Unity and Access Banks.

Shehu is a skilled financial transaction specialist who held leadership positions in multiple banking departments at all three banks, including cash, funds transfer, clearing, reconciliation, operations, and coordination.

The former NSIPA entered politics in 2010 and was initially hired as a Senior Special Assistant to Ibrahim Shema, the former governor of Katsina State, in 2011. She was a member of the Internal Revenue Board for the state as well.

She was appointed by the Economic Community of West African Countries in 2016, and her temporary position there was as an observer for the presidential election in Cape Verde.