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At PIC Summit, Alausa, Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Others Push for Removal of Barriers to Gender Inclusion

At PIC Summit, Alausa, Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Others Push for Removal of Barriers to Gender Inclusion

•Education minister says FG clearing financial, cultural obstacles to learning
•Nigeria can’t achieve $1tn economy if women are relegated, insists minister

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, yesterday said the federal government was putting in place policies and programmes to ensure that all barriers to gender inclusion in Nigeria’s education system are removed.

Speaking in Abuja at the Gender and Inclusion Summit 2025 (GS-25) organised by Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), an initiative of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Alausa stressed that the arguably 15 million out-of-school children in the country was unacceptable to the Bola Tinubu administration.
To this end, he stated that the government was taking action to ensure nobody is excluded from getting an education whether due to paucity of funds, insecurity or as a result of cultural barriers.

Alausa listed several ongoing programmes by the federal government, including those focusing on the menstrual health of women; the school feeding programme, which is currently being reworked, reinforcement of security in risk-prone areas, among others.

According to him, there’s currently massive infrastructure revamp in the schools, in collaboration with sub-national governments, explaining that the efforts are already yielding tangible results nationwide.

At the programme themed: “New Voices and New Approaches for Accelerating an Inclusive Society,” Alausa emphasised that the Bola Tinubu administration takes education and gender inclusion seriously, which accounts for why he has the largest female appointees in a long time.

“So we’re tackling the problem from the centre, and we’re beginning to see good results. We’re using data, we’re using technology, and we’re advancing. The President places a lot of emphasis, on women, on girls, and he’s done this before. He did it even when he was governor of Lagos state,” he pointed out.

Alausa, while commending the leadership of PIC for the annual programme, highlighted the cultural and ethnic sensitivity of some of the issues surrounding the out-of-school children phenomenon, stating that consultations were ongoing with sub-national governments to ensure all misconceptions are dealt with.
Also speaking, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, while assuring that the conversations will directly inform policies under the current administration, argued that Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy cannot be achieved if women, who represent over 50 per cent of the population, remain consigned to the margins.

“Already, women own 43 per cent of MSMEs in Nigeria, yet only 9 per cent of them have access to formal credit. Women representation in leadership remains below expectation, and girls in rural areas are still twice as likely to be out of secondary school as boys. These, amongst others, are stark reminders of the barriers we must continue to confront. But they are also signals of where the greatest opportunities lie,” she stated.

She highlighted some of the flagship interventions launched by Tinubu, with a range of support that cuts across enhancing women’s participation in the agriculture value chain, clean cooking initiatives, empowerment and skill acquisition programmes, market linkages, and others.
Through the Families First Initiative, she explained that the government was empowering women, protecting children, and supporting vulnerable households to secure the foundation of Nigeria’s national stability.

Earlier, the Chairman of PIC, Udeme Ufot, disclosed that the Gender Summit, now in its fourth edition, has become a central platform for reflection, dialogue, and collaboration and has over the years evolved into a hub where research meets practice.

“This year, at GS-25, we gather under the theme: “New Voices and New Approaches for Accelerating an Inclusive Society.” This theme is both timely and urgent. It reflects the reality that achieving inclusion in Nigeria and indeed across Africa requires us to go beyond business as usual. We must look critically at our approaches, challenge old assumptions, and embrace fresh perspectives,” he affirmed.

Also, Chairman, NESG, Olaniyi Yusuf, said the 2025 summit was different as it acknowledged the limitations of past approaches and embraced the creativity, innovation, and diverse perspectives needed to accelerate progress.

“The global development community reminds us that inclusion is not only a matter of fairness but also of economic survival and sustainability. Across the world, inequality undermines productivity, erodes social cohesion, and weakens governance.
“Women continue to face structural barriers in accessing economic opportunities, young people are burdened by unemployment and underrepresentation, and marginalised groups struggle with systemic exclusion,” he noted.

Some other persons who spoke on the first day of the two-day event were: GS25 Technical Advisory Committee Chair, Hansatu Adegbite; UN Women Country Representative, Beatrice Eyong; Executive Director, PIC, Osasuyi Dirisu, among others.

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•Education minister says FG clearing financial, cultural obstacles to learning•Nigeria can’t achieve $1tn economy if women are relegated, insists minister Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa,
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Establishment of Flight Data Centre Commitment to Aviation Safety, Says NCAA Boss

Establishment of Flight Data Centre Commitment to Aviation Safety, Says NCAA Boss

Chinedu Eze

Director-General, Civil Aviation (DGCA), Capt. Chris Najomo, has described the establishment of Flight Data Centre by Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) as a clear declaration of Nigeria’s commitment to aviation safety. Najomo made this known yesterday while declaring open a one-day training workshop for frontline managers for the flight data centre held at the authority’s headquarters in Abuja.

The NCAA director-general stated that the flight data centre was so significant that it was personally commissioned by Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.

Najomo said, “We are investing in your capacity and competence. This is more than a training programme — it is an investment in our collective future and a clear statement of our commitment to excellence.”

He explained that the centre allowed for proactive collection, flight data analysis, and identification of potential safety deficiencies with a view to addressing them before they could escalate into serious incidents or accidents.

Najomo stressed the need to move oversight methodology from compliance-based to performance-based, from being reactive to being proactive and predictive.
The DGCA commended Director of Special Duties, Mr. Horatius Egua, and his team for their dedication to making the vision of NCAA — becoming one of the world’s leading Civil Aviation Authorities in Africa – a reality.

In his goodwill message, Egua recalled how the project, which had been in limbo since 2016, became a reality following the approval of the DGCA.
While commending Najomo for his unwavering support for the ongoing training of frontline managers to manage the centre, Egua emphasised the significance of the facility in the areas of Safety Management System (SMS) and hands-on training.

Other key benefits include enhancing safety oversight, regulatory compliance, incident investigation, tracking patterns and operational performance monitoring, trend analysis and risk management, improving stakeholder collaboration, routine and investigative analysis of flight data, cost savings and efficiency, and global credibility.

In attendance were Executive Director of Banjul Accord Group Safety Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO), representatives of Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), APS facilitators, and a cross-section of participants drawn from the aviation ecosystem.

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Chinedu Eze Director-General, Civil Aviation (DGCA), Capt. Chris Najomo, has described the establishment of Flight Data Centre by Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) as a clear declaration of Nigeria’s commitment
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EU, International IDEA Launch Project to Strengthen Civil Society in Nigeria

EU, International IDEA Launch Project to Strengthen Civil Society in Nigeria

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

European Union (EU) and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) have launched CSO Strengthening Bridge (EU CSO-Bridge) project, an initiative designed to enhance the credibility of civil society organisations (CSOs) and improve regulatory and operational environment in Nigeria.

Funded by the EU and implemented by International IDEA, the project will run for 36 months and build on the gains of the recently concluded EU-funded Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT) Programme.

The project launched on Monday in Abuja aim to create an enabling environment for CSOs to thrive and contribute to Nigeria’s sustainable development agenda, particularly in governance, accountability, and inclusive development.

At the launch, Head of the Governance, Peace, and Migration Section at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Reuben Alba Aguilera, reaffirmed EU’s longstanding commitment to supporting Nigeria’s civil society.

Aguilera described the EU CSO-Bridge Project as a continuation of EU’s efforts to build a sustainable civic space, where CSOs could effectively contribute to democracy and national development.

According to him, “Civil society is essential for any society that hopes to thrive, and their empowerment ensures that governance is inclusive and accountable.”
Head of Programme at International IDEA, Mr. Danladi Plang, said the project was about connecting key stakeholders, regulators, CSOs, sub-national actors, and citizens in a collaborative framework aimed at reform and mutual accountability.

Plang stressed that beyond improving the external regulatory landscape, there was also a strong emphasis on building the internal capacities of CSOs, including their coordination, transparency, and self-regulation.

He highlighted existing regulatory challenges, such as duplication of registration processes at the federal and state levels, and inconsistencies in compliance expectations across government agencies, stating that harmonisation is a key goal of the project.

During the launch, the inaugural Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting was also convened, bringing together representatives from government institutions, civil society, the private sector, and development partners.

PSC is expected to provide strategic oversight and advocacy for necessary reforms that will strengthen the CSO operational environment across Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, Senator Anthony Yaro, emphasised the importance of improving the integrity and public perception of CSOs.

Yaro stated that many CSOs faced societal distrust and operational difficulties, which the new initiative sought to address by providing structural and legislative support.

He disclosed that the 10th National Assembly had taken proactive steps by establishing a dedicated interface office to maintain constant communication with CSOs and promptly respond to policy or legal issues affecting them.

Yaro reiterated the significance of coordination mechanisms to amplify the collective voice of CSOs and ensure they could engage constructively with government and other stakeholders.

He acknowledged the increasingly complex global regulatory landscape and emphasised the need for clarity and mutual understanding between regulators and civil society.

Yaro commended the EU on the project to invest nearly four million euros (€4,000,000), equivalent of over N6 billion, in what he described as a “massive investment” in Nigeria’s democratic infrastructure.

While thanking EU for its continued support, despite global trends of shrinking development funding, Aguilera underscored the importance of CSOs not only as development actors but also as custodians of democratic integrity and agents of social progress.

He called on all stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the EU CSO-Bridge Project, which he described as “the beginning of a journey” towards a more inclusive, transparent, and accountable Nigeria.

The EU CSO-Bridge Project is expected to deliver three main outcomes: the establishment of functioning coordination mechanisms at national and state levels, improved CSO capacity for compliance and self-regulation, and a harmonised regulatory framework that facilitates CSO registration and operations.

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Michael Olugbode in Abuja European Union (EU) and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) have launched CSO Strengthening Bridge (EU CSO-Bridge) project, an initiative designed to enhance
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ATCIS Nigeria Kicks against 100% Hike in Passport Fee

ATCIS Nigeria Kicks against 100% Hike in Passport Fee

Agnes Ekebuike

Association of Telephone, Cable Tv, and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS Nigeria) has rejected the recent hike in international passport fees in the country, describing the hike as unwholesome.

The rejection is one of the push-backs against government’s decision to increase passport application fees to N100,000 for the 32-page passport and N200,000 for the 64-page passport effective September 1, 2025.

National President of ATCIS Nigeria, Sina Bilesanmi, in a statement, said the increment could not be justified at this trying times when Nigerian citizens are grappling with a myriad of policy-triggered economic hardships.
According to Bilesanmi, the decision is a sign of total alienation and disconnection of the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, with the realities of the common man.

“We are appalled by this development. These officers of the federal government failed woefully to consider the economic hardships faced by many Nigerians before approving the fee hike.

“It’s unclear why this harsh decision was taken. Could it be to raise more money for the government? Could it be an attempt to stop young Nigerians traumatised by the economy not to be able to leave?

“Whatever, it leaves a sour taste in our mouths. We therefore urge President Bola Tinubu to overrule this harsh decision in the interest of his administration,” Bilesanmi said.
 

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Agnes Ekebuike Association of Telephone, Cable Tv, and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS Nigeria) has rejected the recent hike in international passport fees in the country, describing the hike as
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