EU urges FG, stakeholders to support education emergencies

• 9,600 Kano families to get N460m from UNDP, WFP.
• FG planning palliatives for Nigerians says Osinbajo

The European Union (EU) humanitarian development peacebuilding consultant, Kabiru Abass, has charged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to support education emergencies in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Speaking yesterday in commemoration of the World Teachers’ Day in Maiduguri, Borno State, Abass said the pandemic had significantly fuelled challenges faced by the education system globally.

The 2020 global Teachers’ Day is themed ‘Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Re-imagining the Future’.

He said: “Today’s event is an occasion to celebrate teachers, facilitators, instructors and the teaching profession worldwide. It also allows us to take stock of achievements and draw attention to the voices of teachers.”

Abass noted that teachers were at the heart of efforts to attain the global education target of leaving no one behind.

MEANWHILE, at least 9,600 households in Kano State will benefit from $1.2 million (about N459.6 million) cash transfer project anchored by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Food Programme (WFP).

The project will also cover 250 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups devastated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the state.

At the official unveiling of the Unconditional Cash Transfer Project at Government House, Kano, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mohammad Yahaya, explained that the project was meant to crush the humanitarian crisis occasioned by the pandemic.

The cash transfer, through the ONE UN COVID-19 Basket Fund, is initiated to support communities in impacted councils in states, including Kano, mostly hit by the pandemic.

Special Senior Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, who expressed satisfaction with the project in Kano and Lagos, stressed that the gesture would complement the Federal Government’s social investment initiative.

On his part, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano, who applauded the launch of the social intervention gesture, said that COVID-19 had largely affected socio-economic development in the state.

THE Federal Government understands the pains COVID-19 imposed on Nigerians and is considering palliatives for the people.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated this yesterday while fielding questions from State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said: “We fully understand that we must have a way of addressing the pain people feel and the economic difficulty people are going through, as much as possible. This is why, even in our current discussions with Labour, one of the issues we are looking at is what sort of palliatives are possible for the Nigerian people? In what ways can we reduce the burden and how quickly can we do so?”

Giving further insight into government’s plan to use the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Prof. Osinbajo said one of those issues we have looked at is how to reduce the cost of gas and petrol. How do we ensure that people are able to go about their businesses buying cheaper energy?”