20m out-of-school children potential bandits – Akpabio

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said there are at least 20 million out-of-school children in the country, describing them as potential bandits.

Akpabio stated this during plenary on Wednesday while contributing to a debate on the compelling need to tackle the challenge of out-of-school children in Nigeria.

The debate followed a report of the senate committee on education (primary and secondary) presented by its chairman, Senator Usman Lawal Adamu (Kaduna Central) during plenary.

Akpabio said the menace of out-of-school children portends danger to the security of the country.

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“20 million out-of-school children is timebomb for any country. They are potential bandits; they are a major danger. So this is a major issue. This is the cause of insecurity in the country,” Akpabio said.

The Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin also said, “It is a serious problem. If we leave unattended to, it is a kind of timebomb, and once it explodes, it will consume us, particularly the Northern part of this country.

“The number of children roaming our streets without going to school needs our attention. It is a serious problem. It is a problem that the solution is beyond the federal government alone or any tier of government. The re-orientation has to commence immediately so that parents should know that they need to do that.”

In his contribution, Senator Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South), asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to compel state governors to address the issue of out-of-school children in their states sequel to the huge funds being allocated to them.

Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) asked state governors to hold a roundtable discussion and advance measures to tackle the issue.

Senator Sani Bello (Niger North) lamented that some children in Niger State had died because they were bitten by snakes in the bushes following lack of toilet facilities in their schools.

He said his administration had spent billions of Naira in building better schools across the state, when he was governor.

After an extensive debate on the issue, Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West), moved a motion for a national summit on the issue.

The motion was seconded by the deputy president of the Senate, Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North).

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, said the national summit would deliberate and iron out issues related to out of school children to ensure the security of the country.

Akpabio said the summit would have various stakeholders including representatives of the federal, state and local governments, civil society organisations and many others in attendance.