President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria is witnessing an increase in girls’ enrolment and retention in schools.
President said this on Thursday at a UN high-level meeting commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women.
The President, in a video message to the virtual meeting, convened by President of the UN General Assembly 75th session, Volkan Bozkir, in New York, attributed the success to the implementation of the Universal Basic Education Programme, Girl Education Project and Safe School Initiatives.
“Our Government is vigorously implementing the Universal Basic Education Programme, which enhances girl-child education at the grassroots.
“Furthermore, the Girl Education Project has contributed to the marked increase in girls’ enrolment and retention in schools as well as guaranteed full productive capacity for future generations of women.
“To ensure the security of school children, especially girls in the North-East of Nigeria, we have ratified the ‘Safe School Declaration’ and begun the implementation of our Safe School Initiatives across the country,” Buhari told the gathering in which Head of States and Government participated.
The President said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, that his administration had ensured improved security through the provision of necessary learning materials for educational institutions via the Safe School programmes.
Buhari, while speaking on combating gender-based violence, said that awareness on a Sex Offenders Register was on-going to discourage and better manage cases of violence against women.
“We are also expanding existing temporary shelters and building new ones in locations where they do not exist, to cater for victims of abuse and provide them with needed rehabilitation.
“In our quest to address the menace of trafficking of our women and girls, Nigeria is working in close collaboration with relevant partners, to rescue, rehabilitate and re-settle rescued victims of trafficking,” he said.
He urged the international community to support the mandate and operations of the Human Rights Council in its quest to strengthen institutions in relation to gender equality and empowerment, as well as elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
President Buhari, who urged Member States to develop additional strategies to improve the quality of life for women and girls, promised that Nigeria would redouble efforts to improve access to productive resources for women and girls as well as continue to ensure the protection of fundamental rights.
He, however, stressed that sustainable development would remain impossible if women and girls are denied human rights.
