Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, has decried what he described as an alarming figure of out-of-school children in the country.
The President raised concern about the development while receiving members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos.
Tinubu said: ”We must address this issue by establishing more schools, recruiting teachers, and providing at least one meal a day for the school children, aligning with the progressive ideology we aim to pursue.”
A statement issued by President Tinubu’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, quoted the President as saying that democracy must be progressive and inclusive with primary attention on pragmatically tackling poverty through the provision of job opportunities for youths and quality education for all Nigerian children.
Tinubu expressed support for the establishment of the National Institute of Progressive Studies by the party and noted that the Institute will carry out diligent research and educate all party members on the principles of democracy and good governance while offering a distinct identity for the party.
He said: ”We will deliver it. I am committed to supporting a strong and ideologically-determined democracy that is progressive, inclusive, and focused on eliminating poverty while providing quality education for our children.
”Collaboration with various government arms is crucial, and I commend the leadership of our party for working hard to promote these essential ideals.”
He urged the leadership of the party to target more youths and women in its e-registration and digital membership validation exercise scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of next year.
He said: ”I stand solidly with you in the advancement of the progressive ideological stance of our party and we will pursue it with vigour.”
While expressing concern over the alarming figure of out-of-school children in the country, Tinubu said: ”We must address this issue by establishing more schools, recruiting teachers, and providing at least one meal a day for the school children, aligning with the progressive ideology we aim to pursue.”
