Governor Umaru Bago has announced that his administration is aligned with the AGILE initiative to ensure the education of the girl child. He revealed that Niger State will launch a 10-year programme offering scholarships to 1,000 female students annually to pursue courses in nursing, medicine, and other medical-related fields.
Bago made the announcement at a conference for traditional and religious leaders on the importance of girls’ education in the North Central geopolitical zone, held in Minna. He stressed that the state government is committed to advancing the education of girls through several initiatives, including a call center project to train females as call operators.
The governor also pledged to deploy one million computers and tablets to public schools across the state, noting the increasing role of technology in education. He added that the procurement process has already begun to provide students in government schools with these devices.
Additionally, Bago disclosed that the state government has laid fiber optic cables to offer free internet access to public schools and other government institutions, with a pilot scheme set to begin in Minna, the state capital.
In his keynote address, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alh. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, emphasized the conference’s goal of encouraging traditional and religious leaders to advocate for girls’ education.
The Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, represented by Suraju Darda’u, Director at the Ministry and Principal of Federal Government College Minna, highlighted the vital role of traditional and religious leaders in raising awareness about the need for female education.
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Niger State’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Hadiza Asabe Mohammed, acknowledged the challenges faced by the North Central Zone, including low literacy rates, gender inequality, and limited access to quality education for girls. She expressed hope that the conference would highlight education as the key to unlocking young women’s potential and contributing to societal development.
Amina Buba Haruna, Project Coordinator for the AGILE Project, shared that the initiative aims to improve the educational outcomes of adolescent girls in secondary schools, helping them become role models.
She also noted that Governor Bago’s policies, such as the domestication of child rights and adoption of the National Policy on Gender Education, were key factors in Niger State’s selection as one of the 18 benefiting states.
The event, organised by the Federal Ministry of Education, the AGILE Project, Niger State Ministry of Basic Education, and the Sultan Foundation, featured goodwill messages from key stakeholders, including Alh. Dalhatu Aliyu Makaman Nupe, Chairman of Jama’atu Nasril Islam in Niger State, Sheikh Adamu Yakatun, State Chairman of the Imams Forum, Bishop Bulus Dauda Yohanna, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Niger State, and Hajiya Hauwa Kulu Abdullahi, State Ameera of FOMWAN. They all recognized that empowering girls through education is a catalyst for change.
The Sultan also presided over the investiture of Hajiya Fatima Umaru Bago, the wife of the governor, as the Ambassador of Girl Child Education in the North Central Zone. In her acceptance speech, Hajiya Fatima shared that her late father, an educationist who ensured his female children received an education, inspired her commitment to promoting girls’ education. She called for a collective effort to overcome the barriers to girls’ education, not just in the North Central Zone but across Nigeria.
