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Lagos govt paid N4.2bn WAEC fees in 4 years – Sanwo-Olu
The Lagos State Government on Thursday said it paid a total sum of N4.2 billion as the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) fees for students in four years.
Sanwo-Olu said this in Ikeja, at the Ministerial Session of the 67th National Council on Education (NCE) meeting, with the theme: ”Addressing the Challenges of Policy Implementation: A Panacea for the Achievement of Education 2030 Agenda.”
The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Primary and Basic Education, Mr Jamiu Alli-Balogun, said the government had not defaulted in the payment of WAEC fees for all public school students in SS3.
He said the payment of the examination fee was a policy which commenced in 2000, when President Bola Tinubu was the Lagos State Governor.
According to him, the intervention started with N200 million in 2000 but metamorphosed into a financial commitment of over N1 billion yearly.
”In the last four years, we have paid over N4.2 billion to keep our promise of full payment of West African Senior School Certificate Examination fees for our public school students, to ensure no student is left behind in the secondary school level of education,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu said easy access to education was another area of focus for the government, irrespective of gender or capability.
He said the government introduced free education at the primary and secondary level with the enactment of the Lagos Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Law of 2005.
The governor said the law set out a policy to provide free, compulsory, universal basic education for every child of primary and secondary school age and required parents and guardians to ensure that children of school age in their care attended school.
He said this had been yielding the desired result as the sector had continued to see an increase in the number of children in those levels of learning.
Sanwo-Olu said the sector had also continued to see an increase in the number of schools in developing and rural areas of the state.
He said, with the government’s approval, a total of six secondary schools were established between January and November in order to encourage easy access to secondary education.
Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has described the planned increase in electricity and telecom tariffs as unconscionable.
The statement comes after the telecoms regulator last week approved the increase in mobile tariffs.
The federal government also recently said that plans were ongoing to increase electricity tariffs “over the next few months.”
However, Sani, who said the government’s plan is unreasonable, insisted that it should be halted.
The ex-lawmaker also expressed his support for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the scheduled protest against the government’s proposal, calling it a welcome development.
“The planned increase in electricity tariffs in the midst of poor power supply and the proposal to increase telecom tariffs is unconscionable and should be halted. The scheduled labour union protest is a welcome development,” he posted on X.
The United States President, Donald Trump, has revealed his decision to cut off all future funding to South Africa, citing poor treatment of “certain classes of people.”
Trump made this known on Sunday in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
According to Trump, South Africa was seizing land and mistreating some citizens without concern for the violations of their rights.
“South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY.
“I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Trump wrote.
Reports suggest that the American leader may be defending White South Africans, some of whom have alleged that the South African policy is unfair to them.
There are indications that the federal government will on Monday meet with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to stop the planned Tuesday nationwide protest against the 50 percent telecommunications tariff hike.
A reliable source familiar with the matter, who preferred anonymity, disclosed this on Monday morning, noting that the meeting between the NLC leadership and the federal government is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday.
The source said the meeting was a “dialogue on matters of national interest as it affects Nigerian workers.”
According to the source, it will be an inter-ministerial meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), purposely to resolve issues raised by the NLC concerning the federal government’s approved upward adjustment to telecommunications tariffs, which the NLC, its allies, and others are vehemently opposing.
This comes as the NLC is already mobilizing workers for a mass protest tomorrow (February 4) against the 50 percent tariff hike approval.
On Thursday last week, in a letter to affiliate unions and state councils, NLC General Secretary Emma Ugboaja urged them to mobilize other Nigerians to send a serious message to the government.
The planned protest follows the 50 percent telecom tariff approval by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on January 20, 2025.
The approval had sparked widespread rejection among telecom subscribers.
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