The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Abubakar Bagudu has charged citizens to pay adequate attention to Nigerian Agenda 2050 and the 5 years National Development Plan which are the planning tools this administration has agreed upon.
Sen. Bagudu, while hosting the House of Representative Committee on Alternative Education on a courtesy visit in his office recently, also encouraged the National Assembly to be conversant with these tools as the masses need to be enlightened on the plans and objectives of this administration.
The Minister, who frowned at the rate of illiteracy in Nigeria and out of School children, said education is vital to the growth of any nation,he revealed that a lot of attempt has been made to solve this problem.
He informed the Committee that the Ministry has engaged a broad spectrum of stakeholders at different times to deliberate on issues with the aim of achieving success; he revealed that the mandate of the Ministry in terms of Social Protection Council include relationships with official donors to see how much can be achieved.
The Leader of the delegation, who is also the Chairman of the Committee, Arch. Ibrahim Almustapha Aliu, informed the Minister that the committee was created solely to give necessary focus on the menace of out of school children in Nigeria which the Ministry is a critical partner.
He further informed that with the initiative of the National Assembly, a program tagged, ‘National Assembly Initiative on Intervention on Nigeria alternative school program; Nigeria Mass Reduction of Out of School Children and Youths Project’ is on-going and some developmental partners has been reached out to of which provisional approval of 1.6Million US Dollars targeted at 14 million out of school children has been gotten.
He said, Agencies with direct mandate on issues relating to out of school children, Almajiri and uneducated adults have been consulted and their proposals submitted, it is expected that the first trench of the amount will reach the confers of the CBN for remittance to these agencies shortly.
Also discussed is the need to increase the budgetary allocation of these Commissions/Agencies in respect of the programs as sponsors of these programs are very keen to know that these Agencies are well equipped to continue with the schedule assigned to them.
AMAJIOYI IFELUNWA ANN
FOR: DIRECTOR (INFORMATION)
