May 27: Buhari unveils N105.7bn package for children

Ahead of today’s celebration of Children’s Day, Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday said that his adminis­tration will in 2016 spend N105.7 billion on the country’s health, ed­ucation and welfare benefits.

In his message to Nigerian Children to mark the yearly event on May 27, the President pointed out that the safe return of one of the Chibok girls, Amina Ali Nkeki and many other women and children abducted by Boko Haram terror­ists, is worthy of celebration, even as he pledged to ensure the rescue of more abductees.

 Buhari said that he remains committed to fulfilling his prom­ise of ensuring a better Nigeria. He reaffirmed his belief in the right of every Nigerian child to have access to quality and affordable education, as well as healthcare and other ba­sic necessities for a good life, in a peaceful and secure environment.

The President said: “The good health and wellbeing of Nigeri­an children remains a top priority on our agenda for national devel­opment and we have demonstrat­ed our strong commitment in this regard with the allocation of N12.6 billion in the 2016 Budget for vac­cines and programmes to prevent childhood killer diseases such as polio, measles and yellow fever.

“Other measures in the 2016 Budget, such as the school feeding programme for children at a cost of N93.1 billion, will ensure that more children go to school and enjoy the fun of learning and growing togeth­er with their peers.

“Despite the current economic and funding challenges facing our dear nation, my administration will continue to do all within its pow­ers to achieve better living condi­tions and greater access to quali­ty healthcare and education for all our youths.

“It is a thing of joy that on this year’s Children’s Day, we can also celebrate the safe return of one of the Chibok girls, Amina Ali Nkeki and many other abducted women and children who have been freed from the clutches of Boko Haram by our gallant troops,” the Presi­dent said.

Reiterating his plan for rapid and full reintegration and rehabil­itation of all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including or­phaned children in the North East zone who are ravaged by Boko Har­am, the President further assured them of strengthening actions to protect children from violence, child-labour, child-trafficking, forced marriages and other relat­ed offences.

“In return, I urge you all to im­bibe and exhibit in greater measure, the virtues of hard work, diligence, discipline, honesty, prudence, self­lessness and patriotism which are essential for the actualisation of our vision of a truly great nation.

“The world now looks up to our dear nation, Nigeria as an ex­emplary model of democratic ide­als after the smooth transition that brought our Administration to power.

“You, our children and youths have a very significant role to play in ensuring that our democratic institutions of governance are con­tinuously nurtured, improved and strengthened to underpin national development and prosperity,” Bu­hari said.