Gift a Child Initiative (GACI) has asked the government of Nigeria to commit 26 percent of its budgetary allocation to education.

GACI Coordinator Deborah Eseni made the call at an event organised to commemorate the Universal Children’s Day in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Development Diaries understands that the federal government, in its appropriation bill for 2021, budgeted N545.10 billion for education. That is 11 percent of the total amount proposed for the year.

Eseni said that the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic had made it paramount to secure a better future for Nigerian children.

‘This year, a lot has happened globally and children have been affected as well following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which has changed things globally’, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted her as saying.

‘Government at all levels and all stakeholders must begin to provide platforms for children to be heard and be part of every decision-making process.

‘To achieve this, every child must be given qualitative education that would be of immense value to society in the future.

‘This is why the government must commit 26 percent of its budgetary allocation to education for sustainable development of the economy as recommended by UNESCO’.

The Gift a Child Initiative is a non-governmental organisation that focuses on helping underprivileged children facing inadequate economic support and emotional care.

Source: NAN

Photo source: Gift A Child Initiative