By Haruna Salami
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has assured Nigerian children that the legislature is committed to prioritising policies and programmes that will protect their rights and enable them attain their full potentials.
He stated this Tuesday at the National Assembly on while addressing children at the Senate chamber in commemoration of the 2025 Children’s Day.
Addressing the school children who were admitted into the chamber, Akpabio urged them to shun drugs, dream big, work hard and never give up on their aspirations.
“We pledge to prioritise policies and programmes that protect their rights and their potentials,” he assured.
The children, in appreciation of the recognition by the Senate, made separate presentations to express their gratitude. They thereafter received individual handshakes from the lawmakers.
Earlier, the Senate called on the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with State Ministries of Education and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), to strengthen efforts towards ensuring free, compulsory, and quality education for all Nigerian children.
It said the risk of national instability that stems from neglecting the child population manifesting in rising youth unemployment, radicalisation, gender disparities, and multi-generational poverty is troubling.
This was sequel to the adoption of resolutions of a motion sponsored by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Ireti Kingibe to mark this year’s International Children’s Day with a strong and deliberate stance on child education and development.
The Senate urged the Federal Government to introduce and implement a National Skills for Children Initiative, targeting early development in ICT literacy, craft entrepreneurship, creative arts, and problem-solving—starting from primary schools.
It also mandated its Committees on Basic Education, Youth Development, and Legislative Compliance to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the status of child education and development initiatives across the country and report back with actionable recommendations.
Furthermore, the Red Chamber encouraged all 36 states and the FCT to commemorate Children’s Day with concrete policy actions, including the commissioning of new schools, introduction of child mentorship programmes, and improvements to health and feeding schemes in schools.
Finally, the legislators urged the Ministry of Finance and Budget Planning to prioritise increased funding for child education and skills development in the 2026 national budget cycle.
Kingibe reminded her colleagues that children are the bedrock of the nation’s future, and that their welfare—educational, emotional, physical, and economic—must be treated as a national priority.
