Gbajabiamila urges support for education as thousands of learning materials are distributed to students in 23 Surulere secondary schools
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Wednesday called on individuals and organisations to strengthen support for government efforts to reposition Nigeria’s education sector, as thousands of learning materials were distributed to students in 23 secondary schools across Surulere, Lagos State.
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The intervention, which reached schools including Ajigbeda Secondary School, Iyun; Stadium High School, Iyun; Surulere Girls High School, Empire; Akintan Secondary School; Gbaja Girls Secondary School; and New Era Girls Secondary School, saw the distribution of textbooks, school bags, exercise books and mathematical sets.
Represented at the event by the lawmaker representing Surulere Federal Constituency I in the House of Representatives, Mr Fouad Laguda, Gbajabiamila described education as the foundation of sustainable development and a decisive factor in national progress.
“Education is the foundation of sustainable development. It is the difference between development and a lack of it,” Gbajabiamila said in a statement delivered on his behalf.
Gbajabiamila Urges Support for Education, he noted, because government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of transforming the sector.
He encouraged stakeholders and people of means to contribute meaningfully to improving learning outcomes.
“What we are doing today is contributing our own quota to support students and schools in Surulere to improve learning outcomes,” he said, adding that the intervention would ease the burden on parents and motivate students towards academic excellence.
The Chief of Staff stated that the initiative forms part of several educational programmes implemented in Surulere during his tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives and now as Chief of Staff.
According to him, no fewer than 8,000 students have benefited from similar interventions.
He stressed that education played a pivotal role in shaping his own life and maintained that investment in education can never be excessive.
The students were urged to make judicious use of the materials and strive for excellence in their studies and examinations.
The Vice-Chairman of Surulere Local Government, Mr Muiz Dosunmu, commended Gbajabiamila for what he described as exemplary leadership and sustained commitment to service.
Mr Dosunmu encouraged the students to remain focused and take advantage of the support provided.
Also speaking, the Principal of Stadium Secondary School, Mrs Christiana Badejo, described the gesture as a valuable investment in the future of both the students and the country.
A school prefect at Ajigbeda Secondary School, Miss Aisha Jimoh, expressed appreciation on behalf of the beneficiaries, pledging that the materials would be used responsibly to improve academic performance.
The lawmaker representing Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Desmond Elliot, also represented the Chief of Staff during similar presentations in some of the schools.
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The development comes days after Gbajabiamila urged Nigerians, particularly the wealthy, to use the holy month of Ramadan as a period of reflection, compassion and deliberate support for the less privileged during a lecture organised in collaboration with the Council of Imams and Alfas in Surulere.
