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Senate moves to tackle out-of-school children issue
Worried by the alarming 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, the Senate on Wednesday asked the judiciary in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to take steps towards setting up mobile courts for the enforcement of the Universal Basic Education, UBE, Act.
This was even as the Red Chamber enjoined government, at all levels, to implement targeted intervention programmes that would address all factors militating against free access to quality and basic education, particularly multidimensional poverty and insecurity.
Similarly, the Senate mandated its Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) to engage the Federal Ministry of Education to pay attention to the issue of out-of-school children with the ultimate goal of drastically reducing the number.
The Senate also urged the ministry and its related parastatals and agencies, like the UBE stakeholders, to come up with a new strategy to effectively deal with the problem. The Senate further asked the ministry and its allied agencies to set a time limit of two years for the diligent implementation of the UBE Act, as stipulated in Section 2(2).
These resolutions were sequel to the consideration of a motion, titled, “Compelling Need to Tackle the Challenge of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria,” sponsored by Senator Idiat Adebule (APC, Lagos West) during plenary on Wednesday.
Presenting the motion, Adebule, noted that: “[The problem] has become worrisome, given the 2022 report of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, that about 20 million Nigerian children are out of school, which represents 10 per cent of the estimated Nigerian population of 200 million people and also represents the highest number of out-of-school children from any country globally.”
She said: “Though the Federal Ministry of Education has disputed the figure, it’s generally agreed that whatever the real figures, the issue of out-of-school children has become an albatross on the neck of the Nigerian State that must be dealt with as a matter of urgency.”
The lawmaker listed the social impacts of having about 20 million out-of-school children in the country to include the impediment to achieving some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal Four, which is to ensure inclusiveness and equitably quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all; and providing an easy pool for recruitment into criminal gangs, banditry and terrorism, which have been the biggest issues in the country for many years.
According to her, the achievement of national economic justice and inclusiveness would further be jeopardized and many more Nigerians may become ill-equipped to climb out of the poverty bracket if the situation persists. She also mentioned gender inequality, early or child marriage and general socio-political instability as other problems that might arise from the menace.
In their contributions, senators Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno North), Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe North), Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), and Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South), described education as a vehicle to lift people out of poverty.
They lamented that lack of education remains a social problem that provides grounds for the recruitment of criminals.
On his own, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, said education is the bedrock of development, lamenting that many states in the North are the ones facing the calamity resulting from out-of-school children
While stressing the need to collectively address the menace, he affirmed that “untrained children are the ones who are now bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, etc.”
He urged every parent to take care of their children by providing education, shelter and other things that would make them succeed in life.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, recommended the policy he introduced as Akwa Ibom State governor for all 36 states and the FCT, whereby the Child Rights Bill was passed into law with six months imprisonment for offenders.
The law, he disclosed, covers free and compulsory education for all children of school age.
He, however, commended the Federal Government for the school feeding programme, noting that it is capable of attracting children to school.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority says it has commenced a clampdown on illegal LPG retail outlets in Akwa Ibom State.
The state Coordinator, Ikechukwu Eseka, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the state commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Bakshar Hussaini, in his office on a courtesy visit.
He said, “We have started enforcement of LPG retailers embarking on illegal decanting of LPG, filling stations, LPG refilling plants and other illegal downstream operations in the state.
“We are currently working on the illegal proliferation of decanting of LPG in the state, Eseka stated, adding that gas is very volatile, and some of them are using gas that is not meant for the purpose.”
He said he has directed that gas plant owners should not load gas on people who don’t have licenses NMDPRA in the state, warning that “decanting of gas from cylinder to cylinder is an illegal activity which is punishable by law.”
He also called on marketers to register and renew their licenses before operating LPG in the state.
“We used the opportunity to talk on the aspects of the downstream which has to do with our enforcement, sealing of filling stations and those who are using diesel for industrial purposes that are yet to register with NMDPRA.
“We have also commenced engagement with individuals and organisations using storage tanks that are over 500 litres, to come and register with the Authority in the state,” he added.
Eseka thanked the Commandant for coming to re-strategise and collaborate with the Authority in the state.
Earlier, the State Commandant of NSCDC, Hussaini, explained that the purpose of coming was to collaborate with NMDPRA on how to checkmate indiscriminate decanting of LPG in the state.
“I know with the present situation in the country, a lot of them are going to cry and you have to use human face to handle their cases so that we don’t injure the government and the public themselves,” he said.
He lamented that some people used their houses to sell cooking gas which can cause environmental hazards to the public.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced plans to phase out the Permanent Voter Cards, PVC.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made this known at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs, held at the INEC Conference Room, Abuja on Thursday.
This was part of the identified 142 recommendations released by the Commission which deals with the general state of preparedness, voter management, voter education and public communication, political parties and candidate management.
Other areas of recommendation include electoral operations and logistics management, election officials and personnel, partnership and collaboration, monitoring and supervision, election technology, voting and result management, election security, electoral offences and the electoral legal framework.
The Chairman said there are eight recommendations among the 142 which require legislative action by the National Assembly.
“The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVC, as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.
He, however, said that those who already have the Permanent Voter Cards can still use them to vote.
He added, “But going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation. ”
Yakubu said this new development will save costs and further eliminate the issues around the collection of Permanent Voter Cards.
He also said the practice of buying up the Permanent Voter Cards from voters to disenfranchise them, would be reduced.
President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to present the 2025 proposed budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
The announcement was made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a plenary session, revealing that the President has sent a communication to that effect.
“The president has made his intention known to the National Assembly to present the 2025m budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on the 17th of December, 2024,” he said.
The proposed budget, totalling N47.9 trillion, was earlier announced by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu.
NMDPRA begins clampdown on illegal LPG retail outlets in Akwa Ibom
Elections in Nigeria: There’ll be no more need for voter cards – INEC
BREAKING: Tinubu to present 2025 budget proposal to National Assembly Tuesday
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