First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government will ensure the national school feeding programme is fully established before the end of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing investment in children as critical to the nation’s future.
She gave the assurance while receiving a delegation from the World Bank at the State House in Abuja, where she reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to policies aimed at improving the welfare of Nigerians, particularly children.
According to a statement issued by her office, Senator Tinubu said Nigeria’s large population remained one of its greatest strengths.
“The population size of Nigeria alone is our advantage, because Nigeria is a great nation.”
The First Lady noted that government ministries had continued to collaborate on initiatives designed to improve public health, environmental sanitation and the overall quality of life.
“The ministries have also been doing their best, for the benefit of our nation, with environment, sanitation because environmental cleanliness is very key. I worked with the Minister of Environment to an extent and that was why we started the Green Challenge.”
She added that the administration had embraced a coordinated approach to governance.
“You talked on multi sectoral approach, that is what we have been doing. I will say that Mr President has gotten himself a wonderful team, they got it.”
Highlighting ongoing health interventions, the First Lady pointed to the government’s tuberculosis awareness campaign and reiterated the importance of prioritising children’s welfare.
“When it comes to tuberculosis we went out for sensitisation, and promoted the campaign, and now, talking about our children, those are the joy of our nation, if we have to do a lot.”
Senator Tinubu also pledged continued collaboration with the wives of state governors to strengthen programmes that promote the wellbeing of children nationwide.
Speaking on the school feeding initiative, she expressed confidence that the programme would become fully operational before the administration ends.
“We are looking forward to school feeding. I can assure that before we finish our tenure, it would have been properly established because even Mr President is very passionate about this, even when he was the Governor in Lagos State.”
Earlier, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Dr Matthew Verghis, called for stronger collaboration with Nigerian leaders to advance Early Childhood Development (ECD), describing it as one of the country’s most valuable long-term investments.
He said the World Bank’s forthcoming five-year partnership framework places significant emphasis on investing in people through education, nutrition, healthcare and skills development.
“Every five or six years, we reframe our programmes in Nigeria. Nigeria is unsurprisingly one of World Bank’s largest partners and our office here is one of the largest in the world.
“In the framework, investing in people is an important focus of the World Bank. We are partners in education and nutrition programmes, we have programmes on skills. We recognise the importance of investing in people.”
Verghis explained that investments made from pregnancy until a child reaches the age of five generate lasting economic and social benefits by improving cognitive development, reducing healthcare costs and helping families escape poverty.
He also urged the First Lady to leverage her platform to promote a multi-sectoral approach to Early Childhood Development across Nigeria.
The World Bank delegation commended the alignment between the First Lady’s initiatives, particularly her campaign against child malnutrition, and the bank’s development priorities.
Describing Nigeria as central to the institution’s global objectives, Verghis said:
“Nigeria is a very important partner for World Bank and her success is crucial for the World Bank to achieve its target.
“We have targets for healthcare delivery, broadband access, energy access and for these various things, if Nigeria does not succeed, the World Bank is not succeeding.”
He added that sustained political commitment was essential, noting that the benefits of investing in young children often take years to become evident.
The five-member World Bank delegation visited the First Lady to brief her on the bank’s Early Childhood Development programme for Nigeria, which is currently in its technical and analytical phase ahead of implementation.
