The Minister of State for Education, Rt. Hon. Goodluck Nana Opiah, has appealed to South West Governors to emulate and sustain the legacies of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the field of education in order to rid the region of out of school children and bring development to the country.
The Director in charge of Press, Federal Ministry of Education Mr. Ben. Bem Goong, quoted Hon Opiah in a statement on Thursday, as having made the appeal today in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, at the flag- off ceremony of the National campaign on out-of-school-children.
The Minister asked Governors of the states of the Federation and in particular, South West Governors to prioritize education through increased budgetary allocations, infrastructural development and sustained public reorientation as ways of tackling the menace of out of school children.
The Minister who emphasized the need for Political will and total commitment, called for all hands to be on deck in the fight to get every child enrolled in school.
Opia pointed out that system strengthening and increased enrollment are the key goals of the campaign adding that the involvement of traditional, religious and community leaders is key to the attainment of the overall goal of eradicating out of school children.
In his keynote address at the occasion, Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun said the South West made a head start in education in Nigeria courtesy Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
He added that the Awolowo legacy will not be allowed to die, rather it will be sustained in order to bring glory to Ogun state and the Nation at large.
His Excellency rolled out the fruits of the Awolowo legacy in education across the South west adding that as at date, Ogun state is ahead of other states of the country in terms of the number of educational institutions at all levels.
