Children Parliament Urges Government To Channel Subsidy Savings to Education

The Nigerian Children’s Parliament has urged the Nigerian Government to earmark and channel a substantial percentage of the savings accrued from the removal of the petroleum subsidy into improving and expanding access to quality education at all levels in the 2025 budget.

The Parliament said that the fund should be with a focus on infrastructure development, capacity building, and recruitment of qualified professionals.

They also called on the Government to allocate a defined proportion of 50% of the subsidy savings for the rehabilitation and enhancement of the nation’s healthcare sector, with a special focus on maternal and child health services.

This, it said, would reduce mortality rates, and providing affordable and accessible healthcare services for the most vulnerable.

These resolutions were sequel to the adoption of a motion titled, “Urgent Need for the Nigerian Government to Reinvest Savings from the Removal of Petroleum Subsidy into the Education, Health, and Welfare of Children for Sustainable Development” moved by the Leader of the Parliament, Ubkongyamba Hassan.

The Parliament also advocated for the establishment of dedicated welfare programs aimed at addressing the nutritional, psychological, and social needs of Nigerian children, using part of the savings to fund school feeding initiatives, promotion of child rights, and child protection services.

It urged relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government to put in place a transparent framework to track and publicly disclose the expenditure of these savings in accordance with set targets and measurable outcomes, thereby ensuring accountability and trust among the citizens, particularly children:

The Children’s Parliament encouraged collaboration with civil society organizations, international development partners, and local stakeholders to maximize the impact of the funds and ensure sustainable and inclusive development outcomes that benefit all segments of the Nigerian population, especially the youth, children and marginalized groups.

It urged the Federal and States Governments to urgently ensure that functional Children Parliament are established at all levels of government and that the Federal Government and United Nations should adopt the CALDEV Africa National Children Leadership Conference as model policy innovation programme for children’s leadership development.

The session, which was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Ibrahim Zanna, was part of activities to mark the National Children Leadership Conference organised by the Children of Africa and Values Development Initiative in Abuja.

The Children’s Parliament said the removal of the petroleum subsidy was a necessary step to reduce fiscal pressure on the nation’s economy  that resulted in government expending over 95% of Nigerian revenue on debt servicing due to the  rising debt burden,

The motion reads, “The Parliament recognises that the Nigeria government under the petroleum subsidy regime was paying subsidy in excess of 10 Trillion Naira annually, which affected the government ability to channel resources to enhance the sustainable development of the children.

“Acknowledges the significant savings being realized from the removal of the petroleum subsidy, which presents a unique opportunity for strategic reinvestment to enhance the social development and economic welfare of children and Nigerians.

“Conscious that Nigeria’s educational and health sectors are in urgent need of substantial improvements in infrastructure, human resources, and funding to address gaps in service delivery, enhance quality, and provide equitable access to all citizens;

“Concerned about the over 58 million vulnerable Nigerian children, who continue to face challenges including malnutrition, food insecurity, lack of access to quality healthcare and education, insurgency, child labor, and other welfare issues;

“Believes that reinvesting the subsidy savings into sectors that directly affect education, health, and the well-being of children will significantly contribute to achieving long-term social and economic development goals that would address issues of extreme poverty, hunger, the menace of out-of-school children, and infant mortality.”

Founder of CALDEV, Mr. Bamidele Salam, stressed the need for children to be active participants in shaping the future.

He said the underpinning philosophy of the programme was hinged on the necessity to again, convoke the largest and most diverse gathering of children leaders across Nigeria.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Women Affairs, Mrs Kafilat Ogbara, said that young people should be given a voice to properly prepare them for the future.

She said there was need to get young people involved in everything in the society and commended the organizers of the programme for the gesture have to be deliberate to elevate the younger generation.

“Most times children are left behind. I am happy for this national leadership conference, being organised today in Abuja by Hon Bamidele Salam. We need to start including our young people in everything that we do. The leadership level they need to attain would be attained if they are more involved,” she said.

Country Director Plan International Nigeria, Charles Usie, stressed the need for children to be educated.

He urged the children to build relationships that would help them achieve their objective in life.

The event featured a children’s panel discussion session with the theme, ” The Role of Young People in Promoting Sustainable Development.”

 

 

Confidence Okwuchi