Niger govt declares state of emergency on education

Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has declared a state of emergency on education in the Niger North Senatorial District due to the insufficient number of schools in the area

Bago made the declaration while on a project tour in the Senatorial District, according to his spokesperson, Bologi Ibrahim, on Friday.

Bago, who is also known as “the farmer governor,” expressed concern over the insufficient schools in most communities in the area, especially along Bangi and Mariga local government areas.

He noted that the state of emergency in the Senatorial District would help in addressing the issue.

The governor said more schools will be established in the zone while all existing day schools will be renovated and furnished with modern equipment.

The farmer governor also announced that the issue of water in the area will be tackled head-on and that his administration is working round the clock to eliminate all forms of criminality in the area.

In September, Bago had also announced that his administration would spend 50% of the 2025 budget on education and health.

The governor, who was represented at the event by the Secretary to the State Government, Abubakar Usman, said, “About half of the 2025 budget will go to the education and health sectors. Also, N1.8bn has been earmarked as a matching grant to the Universal Basic Education Commission.”

He also distributed kitchen utensils to boarding schools and classroom furniture to enhance the school feeding initiative.