New statistics has shown that the northern part of Nigeria accounts for 9 million out of school children, representing 69 percent of the 13.2 million out of school children in the country.
The statistics given by UNICEF on the North was based on the study conducted on out of school children in the country in the face of many security and economic challenges.
The wife of the Niger State governor, Dr Amina Abubakar Sani Bello painted the sordid picture of the situation in the north at a stakeholders’ workshop on the implementation of At Risk Children Programme (ARC-P) in Minna yesterday.
She also disclosed that aside out of school menace, there is also the problem of substance abuse by youths and that in 2017 Niger State was the highest in youth substance abuse in the North Central.
He said the abuse of substances was the major causes of violence and restiveness in the state as witnessed recently with out of school children more vulnerable to it.
Amina Bello who assured the commitment of the state government to the full implementation of the programme said, ARC-P will provide basic protection for especially those who could not have access to basic education.
The special adviser to the president on special interventions, Hajiya Maryam Uwais said that the programme is aimed at impacting and supporting young Nigerians that could not have basic education to take ownership of their lives to be productive.
Uwais urged the state government to provide the required data of the beneficiaries, noting that the programme will be built on seven pillars to include; skills acquisition, sports, renewable energy, security and agriculture among others.
The secretary to the state government (SSG), Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane disclosed that 19 categories of vulnerable children have been identified in Niger State and assured that the state will collate the required data on At Risk Children Programme for implementation.