SDP Presidential candidate, Adebayo pledges to reduce out-of-school children to zero

 

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) Presidential candidate, Mr Adewole Adebayo, has pledged to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria to zero if elected, promising increased investment in basic education and measures to address insecurity.

Adebayo made the pledge in a statement issued by Mr Mark Adebayo, Chief Media and Communications Adviser to the Adebayo-Bugaje Presidential Campaign Council, on Thursday.

He said his administration would declare a state of emergency in basic education and dismantle systemic barriers preventing millions of Nigerian children from accessing classrooms.

The candidate expressed concern over Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, calling for urgent interventions to improve enrolment, school attendance and the quality of basic education across the country.

According to the campaign group, available estimates put Nigeria’s out-of-school children population at about 18.3 million, comprising approximately 10.2 million primary school-age children and 8.1 million junior secondary school-age children.

The campaign said about 66 percent of the affected children were concentrated in the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones, where insecurity, poverty and other socioeconomic challenges had disrupted access to education.

It also expressed concern over the impact of insecurity on girls’ education, citing low primary school attendance rates in the two regions.

“ We cannot build a modern economy, achieve national security or take our rightful place among nations when millions of our citizens are denied access to education from childhood,” Adebayo said.

He criticised successive administrations for failing to adequately address the crisis, describing basic education as a fundamental right that required urgent government attention.

Under the proposed four-year transformation agenda, the candidate said his administration would prioritise public primary and secondary education through increased funding, infrastructure development and targeted welfare programmes.

“My administration will redirect resources from excessive political spending towards public education to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to free, safe and quality basic schooling,” he said.

Adebayo also pledged to work with state and local governments to strengthen the enforcement of compulsory basic education laws and establish community-based monitoring systems to identify children who were not attending school.

He said the proposed administration would introduce measures to protect schools in high-risk areas and reconstruct classrooms damaged or destroyed by conflict.

Adebayo said that the plan would also involve working with local communities to integrate literacy, numeracy and vocational training into traditional education systems.

The candidate said the proposed measures were aimed at expanding educational opportunities and equipping children with the skills required to participate in the economy.

“The figures are not merely statistics; they represent the future of millions of Nigerian children. We must act decisively to ensure that no child is denied the opportunity to learn,” he said.

The campaign said the education proposals formed part of the Adebayo-Bugaje ticket’s manifesto, titled Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity.

It urged Nigerians to support policies that prioritised access to education, improved school safety and strengthened public investment in the sector.