Governor of Kaduna sate, Sen. Uba Sani has been commended for the transformative interventions in the education sector, particularly efforts aimed at increasing school enrolment and retention through the state’s feeding initiative.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on the School Feeding Programme, Fauziya Buhari-Ado gave the commendation after receiving an award for excellence and commitment to education advancement at the 2026 Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) Annual Education Summit in Abuja, Nigeria.
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She attributed the success of the Kaduna State School Feeding Programme to the support and leadership of Governor Uba Sani, noting that the initiative has continued to encourage school attendance, improve pupil retention, and support the welfare of children across the state.
“So almost 40% of the children that go to school, it’s just because of the food,” she said.
She said with the efforts of the governor and the attendant reforms, children that were out of school, on the street and would have been prone to challenges of insecurity have been enrolled into classes across the state.
“Knowing, even with the issue of insecurity, if we don’t secure the children of Kaduna State, we allow them roaming around, especially knowing that this Al-Majiri and other children are more prevalent in the northern part of Nigeria.
“He took those necessary steps to ensure that those students go to school, because free feeding, free education is really, really important,” she said.
She said in the course of assessment, parents and other stakeholders have testified on the impact of school feeding programme on the education sector, especially enrollment and retention of students.
“While we go around the school, we hear from the principals and the parents that if not because of the school feeding programme, these children will not be in school. And I have seen that. I have heard from the children, the beneficiaries,” she said.
Buhari-Ado also praised the governor’s broader development agenda, saying his investments in education infrastructure, social programmes, and human capital development have positively changed the face of Kaduna State and enhanced learning opportunities for thousands of children.
Buhari-Ado expressed appreciation to the association for the recognition, describing it as a motivation to do more for the education sector.
“Honestly, this is a remarkable achievement, and I’m really honoured to receive this award.
“To see me worthy of this recognition, which means they are following us, following our programme in Kaduna State. Our school feeding programme has been there, and we are doing very, very well,” she said.
The ECAN summit also featured discussions on education reforms and accountability, with the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, urging journalists to embrace data-driven reporting through the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure Management System to monitor learning outcomes and improve transparency in the sector.
Other stakeholders, including the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmad, and UBEC Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba, emphasised the importance of collaboration among government agencies, development partners, and the media to sustain ongoing reforms and strengthen education delivery across the country.
