Fayemi: You can’t find any out-of-school children in Ekiti

Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti state, says there are currently no out-of-school children in his state.

Speaking on Monday in Abuja at the 25th edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Fayemi said governors should be blamed for the rate of out-of-school children.

Fayemi was a panellist at the summit alongside Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese; Sanusi Lamido, emir of Kano, and Juliet Anammah, Jumia CEO.

“The child rights act is an existing law in Nigeria. The challenge is to what extent are we enforcing the provisions of the child’s right act.

“You have a child’s right act that says all children must be in school and if they are not, the parents have some explaining to do and yet you have 10 million of those children not in school.

When asked who should be held responsible for the non-enforcement of the child’s right act, Fayemi responded: “NESG should hold governors responsible and hold the federal government responsible as well. Education is on the concurrent list.

“In Ekiti for example, education is not only free, but it is also compulsory and we punish people if we find your child on the street hawking. You will not find children on the streets of Ekiti hawking.”

The Ekiti governor said the situation was a delicate one for politicians as citizens are more satisfied when governors build roads rather than pay teachers’ salaries.