Politics
Reps Pass Bill To Establish Almajiri Education Commission
Barely 24 hours after former President Olusegun Obasanjo raised an alarm that out-of-school children posed a threat to national security, the House of Representatives had passed for second reading a bill seeking to establish National Commission for Almajiri education and out-of-school children.
It will be recalled that the government of former President Goodluck also gave the almajiri a facelift, establishing schools to educate them.
Tilted, “Bill for an Act to Establish National Commission for Almajiri Education and out of School Children to Provide for a Multimodal System of Education to tackle the Menace of Illiteracy, Develop Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Programmes, Prevent Youth Poverty, Delinquency and Destitution in Nigeria; and for Related Matters (HB.2028),” the bill was sponsored by Hon. Shehu Kakale and 18 other lawmakers.
In his lead debate at Wednesday’s plenary, Kakale noted that Nigeria was among the countries with millions of children that were out of school.
He said, “Nigeria is among many other countries that are confronted with the phenomenon of out-of-school children. As you may be aware, millions of children and teenagers across the country are currently out of school, due to one reason or the other.
“Mr Speaker, as of September 2022, out-of-school children in Nigeria were estimated to be 18.5 million by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). However, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) estimated the same to be 13.2 million.”
The lawmaker also gave staggering statistics of the figures in many states of Nigeria, recalling Jonathan’s efforts to build 157 schools for the almajiris.
“The statistics appear even grimmer, judging from the rough estimate of out-of-school children per state in the country.
“Mr. Speaker and my Honourable Colleagues, the digest of basic education statistics by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) revealed that Ten (10) out of Nigeria’s Thirty-Six (36) states were homes to more than half of Nigeria’s out-of-school children, as at 2018. The 10 states at the top of the chart had about 5.2 million of the country’s approximately 10.2 million out-of-school children at that time.
“In no particular order, Kano State had the most with 989,234, while Akwa-Ibom (581,800), Katsina (536,122) and Kaduna (524,670) followed closely. Taraba (499,923), Sokoto (436,570), Yobe (427,230), Zamfara (422,214) and Bauchi (354,373) were other states that ranked high on the list. States with the lowest numbers of out-of-school children were Cross River with 97,919, Abia with 91, 548, Kwara with 84,247, Enugu with 82,051, Bayelsa with 53,079, FCT with 52,972 and Ekiti with 50,945.
“Mr. Speaker, several challenges are associated with the high number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. All out-of-school children in Nigeria are at risk of exploitation, vulnerable to recruitment by insurgents, human traffickers, and by other criminal elements in society.
In fact, in your address to Members of the House of Representatives in this hallowed chamber on 28th January 2020, Mr. Speaker, you were very vivid on the rising number of out-of-school children and the danger it portends for the Nigerian state.
“Mr Speaker and my Honourable colleagues, as I draw this debate to a close, permit me to reiterate the fact that education is pivotal to human development and the growth of a nation. It was in recognition of this that Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had to build 157 Almajiri Model Schools to enable the education of the almajiris in Nigeria.
“There cannot be a functional society without a functional educational system. Accordingly, the establishment of the proposed Commission will ensure that the Almajiris receive sound education that will shield them from exploitation by criminal elements. It is in line with the foregoing, I hereby urge you Mr. Speaker, and my respected colleagues to support that this Bill is read the Second time,” he said.
In his contribution, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila said the bill was worthy of passage.
Gbajabiamila said, “The sponsor and I worked very closely last year on the issue of almajiri. I commend him for this proactiveness. For anything that has to do with education in this 9th assembly, we have been very proactive. Education has been a priority in our legislative agenda. We have just concluded a two-day summit on tertiary education. We hope that at the end of the day, we will make recommendations.”
But in his own inputs, Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai said that while he was not against the bill, a timeline should be provided in the bill for the termination of the programme.
“You are aware that 12 years ago, the Presidency embarked on making sure that the almajiris are integrated into the educational sector. I agree with this bill but in agreeing with it, they are making an intervention and it should have a gestation period like saying this program will last ten to 15 years or so. If the commission is established to just run like that, it will be discriminatory in nature. Every child is entitled to an education. This particular program is an interventionist to bridge the gap, so if it’s an intervention to bridge the gap, it supposed to have a timeline, the laws are made in that way”, he said.
Also contributing, Hon. Dachung Bagos called for punitive measures against failures on the part of the operators of the commission when established.
“This bill coming from a PDP man, my colleague from Sokoto. This is the heartbeat of the project the PDP administration started during the time of Goodluck Jonathan because of the importance— of seeing that Almajiri and out-of-school children— if someone had done his work all through the years, we could not have been at the point in time. It is a bill we support totally, but ours is that once this is established, the people that are supposed to do their work in the bill should be able to spell out actual punishment for those that are supposed to carry out that duty. At this point, let the penalty be spelled out,” Bagos said.
Responding to Ossai comment, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase who presided over the session said the bill was not discriminatory but for all out-of-school children nationwide.
“I want you (Ossai) to look at the long title of the bill. It says almajiri and out-of-school children, which we have in all parts of Nigeria. It’s not only for the almajiri, it will also take care of our brothers that are always in the street,” he said.
The bill later scaled through second reading when put to a voice vote by the presiding officer.
In a related development, the House also passed for second reading a Bill for an Act to Establish Chartered Institute of Corporate and Business Management Affairs; and for Related Matters sponsored by Hon. Julius Ihonvbere from Edo State.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday brushed aside the order of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which ordered him to stay proceedings in a suit that sought deregistration of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Accord Party and three others.
The Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision of a panel of three Justices had on May 22, 2026 directed the Federal High Court Judge not to proceed with the suit until an appeal pending before them and filed by Accord Party is resolved.
In a Certified True Copy Enrol Order of the Superior Court, Justices Mohammed Danjuma, Adebukola Banjoko and Oyejoju Oyewumi asked the lower Court Judge to stay proceedings until all issues on the appeal filed by the Accord Party were resolved
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State had, through the Accord Party, applied to justice Lifu to join him as a defendant in the deregistration legal battle instituted by a group of former legislators.
The contention of the Osun State governor was that he had a stake in the Accord Party, being the platform he was seeking re-election in the August 15 gubernatorial poll in the state.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu on April 27 ruled against the Osun State governor, rejecting his request to be joined in the suit to defend his own position and interest.
Not satisfied with the Federal High Court decision, the Osun State governor, through his lawyer, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), moved to the Court of Appeal in Abuja where he challenged the Justice Lifu decision to refuse to allow him join the suit.
After listening to the argument canvassed, especially that he has interest to protect as Accord Party gubernatorial candidate for Osun State governorship election, the three Justices of the Court of Appeal, unanimously directed Justice Lifu to allow them look into the grievances of the governor.
In specific terms, the Court of Appeal Justices directed Justice Lifu not to proceed further with the matter and fixed October 27 to determine the interlocutory appeal of the appellant.
However, when the certified enroll order and notice of appeal were served on Justice Peter Lifu by Mr Adetunbi (SAN), the judge rejected it on the ground that it was a ploy to arrest his judgment in the matter.
Although the judge had adjourned his judgment delivery in the matter indefinitely, he finally made a dramatic turn around on Monday and proceeded to deliver the judgment that has now proscribed the five political parties.
Actor turned politician, Mr Kenneth Okonkwo, has rejected the choice of former Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, as the running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a statement on Monday, Mallam Bolaji Abdulllahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, announced the party’s choice of Mr Amaechi.
However in a statement, Mr Okonkwo said that the choice of Mr Amaechi from the South South strengthens the continued marginalization of people from the South East.
According to the former spokesperson of the Labour Party, any arrangement that would not factor a person from the South East either as president or vice president in the party is anti-Igbo.
He contended that Chief Raph Nwosu, who founded the ADC in 2005 and willingly surrendered it’s leadership to Senator David Mark did not do so to entrench Igbo marginalization in the party.
The former actor said: “I heard from the social media that ADC has picked its vice presidential candidate from the South-South. If this is true, it is unfortunate, as this will continue the crude marginalisation of the South-East.
“This geo-political zone has neither produced a president or vice president since 1999. To deny the South-East the opportunity to produce the president or vice president in the ADC in 2027, will amount to perpetuating the marginalisation.
“The ADC was founded by Ralphs Nwosu from the South-East in 2005. He made the sacrifice to give up the party in 2025 for the coalition to usher in a better Nigeria. He couldn’t have made that sacrifice to marginalise his own people.
“I did not join the coalition to assist in marginalisation of my own people further. I am of the opinion that if we made a sacrifice to give up the national chairman and the president, it will amount to unpardonable injustice to deny us the vice president in 2027.
“I joined politics to fight for a better Nigeria where no region, geo-political zone, or person will be marginalised.
“The only favour I asked Atiku Abubakar, who openly declared that he is the pathway to the presidency of the South-East, is to show it by choosing someone from the South-East to be his vice.
“If it is confirmed that he has chosen a candidate from the South-South, I wish him well. I am not favourably disposed to campaigning for any presidential ticket that does not have a person of South-East origin as president or vice in 2027”
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, on Monday said that the numerous projects being executed by President Bola Tinubu across the states in the southeast will give him upper hand over other presidential candidates during next year’s general elections.
Prof. Yilwatda stated this at the Abakaliki Township Stadium during a mega rally organized by the Ebonyi State government and Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, during which President Tinubu and other APC candidates for the 2027 general elections were adopted.
According to the APC National Chairman, no President had done for the southeast region what President Tinubu has done for them and expressed the confidence that the president would not only win in Ebonyi State but in the entire South East.
Prof. Yilwatda also used the occasion to address growing insinuations in some quarters that Ebonyi State had been conceded to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Dismissing the claim, Prof. Yilwatda said the state would not allow the PDP to win any position in the forthcoming general election.
“We will return President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Francis Nwifuru as Governor of Ebonyi State in 2027.
“We want to return all APC senators, members of the House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates in 2027.
“Nobody has conceded Ebonyi to the PDP. Therefore, there is no vacancy in Ebonyi State. Ebonyi PDP has no place, and there is no vacancy at all in the Government House come 2027,” the APC National Chairman declared.
He commended the people of the state for their support for President Tinubu and urged them to re-elect him in the next presidential election in appreciation of what he has done for the state and the entire South-East through infrastructural transformation and human capital development.
Governor Francis Nwifuru, who also spoke at the event, said the state had no other presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections apart from President Tinubu.
He declared that Ebonyi remained a stronghold of the APC and vowed that the party would deliver the President in the state.
Gov. Nwifuru said President Tinubu had shown exceptional commitment to the state and deserved total support for appointing Senator Umahi as Minister of Works, a role he said Senator Umahi had performed creditably.
“Ebonyi has no other presidential candidate apart from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and we will return him in the presidential election.
“We are standing here today to tell the whole world, especially those using the President’s name to orchestrate division and confusion in this great state, that we have only one party, and that is the APC.
“This statement became necessary because some people are going around claiming they have discussed with Mr President and that he has handed Ebonyi over to the PDP. They are also saying that Chief Nyesom Wike is their leader and that Wike said the President has given Ebonyi to him.
“Ebonyi is not for sale. We are restraining ourselves because the people are with us. Nobody should push us because we have what it takes to confront anyone trying to destabilise us.
“We want to tell Mr President that he has earned our votes. He gave us what we had never had in Eastern Nigeria — the office of the Minister of Works. And this Minister of Works is not sitting idle; he is working,” he stated.
Senator Umahi, in his remarks, said President Tinubu had done what no other President had done for Ebonyi State and the entire South-East by executing numerous projects across the state and the region.
“Ebonyi State is a one-party state under Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru. We are not going to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done a lot, not just for Ebonyi State but for the entire South-East and other geopolitical zones,” he said.