Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the Federal Government to explain how the ₦144.86bn allocated under the National Plan on Financing Safe Schools has been deployed, following reports that insecurity has forced schools to shut down across about 40 local government areas.
Atiku said the continued disruption of education by terrorists, bandits and other armed groups exposed what he described as a failure of the government’s approach to securing schools, particularly amid Nigeria’s already severe out-of-school crisis.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the effectiveness of the Safe Schools programme should be judged by whether children and teachers can actually attend school without fear of attack.
“At a time when Nigeria is already battling a severe out-of-school crisis, insecurity is driving even more children from the classroom.
“If schools across about 40 local government areas cannot operate because government cannot guarantee the safety of pupils and teachers, Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: where is the ₦144.86bn Safe Schools programme in all of this?” the statement partly read.
