Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, has urged the Nigerian Government to prioritise Early Childhood Development (ECD) as a national development imperative.
He called for a coordinated, long-term framework that places child development at the centre of Nigeria’s growth strategy.
Governor Yahaya made the call at the National Development Update (NDU), a bi-annual event organised by the World Bank to assess Nigeria’s economy and chart a course towards sustainable and inclusive growth.
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The Governor advocated a more harmonised national approach.
This year’s edition, themed “Shaping Nigeria’s Future through Early Childhood Development,” featured a panel session in which Governor Yahaya made notable contributions.
Early Childhood Development Plan
During the session, the Gombe State Governor proposed the development of a 25-year National Early Childhood Development Plan, a single, coherent strategy that aligns policies and interventions across all tiers of government for adoption by every state.
He argued that such a long-term framework was essential for sustainable economic growth, achieved through a deliberate blend of infrastructure development and human capital investment during a child’s formative years.
His position reflects the World Bank’s warning that Nigeria’s long-term prosperity depends not only on macroeconomic reforms but also on addressing a child development crisis through stronger coordination in health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and foundational learning systems.
“Our commitment in Gombe State is to pursue forward-looking policies that nurture resilient communities, deepen human capital development and guarantee long-term prosperity for future generations. That is why we feel Early Childhood Development must remain at the heart of national planning and policy coordination,” he said.
According to him, Gombe State had placed foundational learning at the centre of its education reforms, establishing nursery and kindergarten schools across all local government areas.
He said the interventions were aligned with World Bank-supported programmes aimed at improving early childhood education outcomes.
“For us in Gombe, we are making deliberate investments in early childhood development through the establishment of nursery and kindergarten schools at the grassroots level. So far, over 350,000 children have been taken off the streets and returned to the classroom,” the Governor added.
Governor Yahaya was represented at the event by the State’s Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Mr Muhammad Gambo Magaji.
The high-level event, held in Abuja, brought together key economic and policy leaders, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso; managing directors; chief executives of government agencies; and senior public officials.