Make primary education compulsory — Northern senators

The Northern Senators Forum (NSF), has called for the amendment of the section four of the 1999 Constitution to make primary education compulsory in the Nigeria.
This is contained in a communiqué signed by the forum’s chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, and issued to newsmen on Wednesday in Katsina at the end of their two-day retreat.
The Forum also called for the establishment, equipping, and provision of adequate staff and more learning centres as well as promotion of girl-child education in the region, in order for the region to reduce the number of out-of-school children roaming the streets.
“The alarming rate of out-of-school children and less number of learning institutions in the region explains why the North is both educationally and economically backward,” it said.
The communiqué also called for the revitalization of agro-based sector, industrial and manufacturing sectors so that the teeming army of unemployed youths in the region could be actively empowered to keep them away from crimes.
It urged state governments in the region to start planning ahead for post-oil era by improving their internally generated revenue and revive moribund industries to provide employment opportunities to their people.
According to the communiqué, the National Assembly would continue to perform their oversight functions seriously to ensure meaningful implementation of all federal budget provisions as it affects the three zones in the region.
It further stated that the North will take a common position on the issue of restructuring.
“Northern members of the National Assembly would be an integral part of achieving that common platform that should also include devolution of power to states and local governments,’’ it stated.
The forum also advocated specific roles for traditional rulers as custodians of peace in their domains and urged the people of the zone to shun ethnicity and religion as well as political differences to achieve a common goal.
The senators resolved to partner with their counterparts in the House of Representatives and Northern Governors Forum to design a plan for the northern region’s development.

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