The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has joined hundreds of children to mark the year 2025 Children’s Day celebration, as she also launched the Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.
The event took place at the State House Banquet Hall on Tuesday, where children from different states gathered to celebrate this special day.
The first lady described the children as the “heartbeat of the nation” and expressed her delight in learning that the AGILE project was significantly contributing to reducing the burden of Out-of-School Children in communities by increasing secondary school enrollment among adolescent girls in Nigeria.
“I am pleased to learn that the AGILE project is significantly contributing to reducing the burden of Out-of-School Children in our communities by increasing secondary school enrolment among adolescent girls in Nigeria,” she said.
The first lady formally launched the AGILE Additional Financing Project and the AGILE Games Award Ceremony.
She commended the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmed, and the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Aisha Garba, for their efforts in making the project a success.
“I commend the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmed, and the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Aisha Garba, and their team for this laudable programme,” she said.
The first lady congratulated all the students who participated in the AGILE games and won, and promised to give each of the winners N50,000 in addition to the award they received.
“Every child represented here today has demonstrated what is possible when opportunity meets support,” she said.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, reiterated that the administration of President Tinubu was committed to ensuring that the potential of Nigerian children was met with purpose.
“Within 11 months, we have moved from plans to action: we have launched school improvement programmes in all 36 states, backed by N2.035 billion in new investments for School-Based Management Committees and over N20 billion in Teacher Professional Development,” he said.
The Country Director, World Bank, Nigeria, Mr Taimur Samad, expressed the organisation’s commitment to standard education for all.
“It is an honour for us to be a partner in the context of AGILE, and many other programmes that promote education,” he said.
The AGILE project, sponsored by the World Bank, aim to benefit all learners, including renovation and building of 25,000 classrooms in government secondary schools, 8,400 toilets, and free education sponsorship of out-of-school children, including those with disabilities.
