News
EU to invest €5.4 million euros on teachers’ training
EU to invest €5.4 million euros on teachers’ training
…reiterates commitment to quality education in Northwest Nigeria
By: Michael Mike
The European Union (EU) has announced the investment of an additional €5.4 million euros in building the capacity of teachers in the Northwest.
This is in line with its commitment of reducing the high number of out of school children in the region by improving access to quality education and empowering youths in the region,
EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen made the disclosure in Abuja at the official launch of the €4O million intervention programme on education and youth empowerment in North Western Nigeria through the Global Gateway initiative.
She disclosed that the additional fund was to ensure teachers get the necessary and upgraded skills and learning needed to nurture students armed with requisite knowledge to become an army of solutions to the many challenges confronting Nigeria and the continent in general.
The EU Commissioner said: “Actually, this component is complemented by a €5.4 million euros separate programme that we signed today, which is dedicated to teachers for aiming to build their resilience and capacity in challenging environments. We have to remember that there is no education without teachers and that’s why we also have to invest in teacher training.
“The third objective of our programme is really that it empowers youth with the skills they need, providing vocational education as promoting behavioral change campaigns to challenge harmful social norms and empower girls.
Urpilainen also added that the European Union was set to provide vocational education and training for Nigerian youths in order to equip them with the necessary skills required to excel in the labour market.
She said: “This ambitious programme launched today has been designed with Nigerian authorities to ensure the ownership and an adequate response to the local needs. The EU is not only targeting the youth through this specific programme, it is also bringing the youth to the driving seat and this is why as the EU, we set up the Youth Sounding Board, also here in Nigeria, as well as in many countries to make sure that what we do is for the youth but also by the youth.
“We have to include young people in the decision making, we have to create spaces and structures where young people feel that they are visible and they watch this and this is precisely what the European Union is doing.”

Urpilainen while noting that Nigeria was not only the economic powerhouse on the continent and the most populous country in Africa, but the country was also a strategic partner of the EU in the West region, described education as the most transformative sector with ability to change the fortunes of a country.
She explained that the programme would focus on lifting out of school children off the streets to get the required education, especially girls through various components aimed at achieving one objective; access to quality education and youth empowerment.
She said: “Education is the most transformative sector in which we can invest and it is the cornerstone for creating resilient societies and finding solutions to the biggest challenges of our time.
“So the EU investment on access, skills and quality education and youth empowerment in Northwestern Nigeria brings actually all these different components together. It will be deployed in the Northwest Nigeria.
“The programme which we are launching today supports access to education for out of school children with a specific focus on bringing and keeping girls in schools. It also includes direct assistance to families cash, cash, transfers, social protection, income generation, gifts and indirect assistance through agricultural practices. I think it’s important that we are able to provide access to education each and every child in Nigeria so no one is left behind.
“Another talk and overall objective of our programme is that it really promotes validated teaching and learning in targeted schools. So it will support child centred medical, sexual reproductive health racial gender equality training and support community based and state level capacities to deliver on education.”
Speaking on behalf of the Northwestern states, Governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi while appreciating the EU for helping the region tackle the menace of out of school children, said they were committed to making education in their respective states a priority and have decided to invest heavily in the sector.
He said: “The Northwestern states have the highest population in the country, we are more disadvantaged when it comes to education so this support is coming at the right time.
“For each of us education is a priority and we have decided collectively and individually to invest in education and we are ready to change the narrative in next four years.
“This support has come at the right time and I assure you that this support will go a long way in helping us to revamp education in our various states. This intervention we will utilize in the best way possible and I assure you that the outcomes would be something commendable to improve our educational system and other aspects of social development.”
On his part, Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, warned that any attempt to downplay education would cost the country a fortune in terms of welfare and security.
” If our youths are not properly catered for, trained and empowered, we are toying with the future of the country. Not catering for them will allow poverty to grow, insecurity to foster.”
Mamman who urged state governors to focus on prioritising education and youth empowerment, disclosed that the soon to be released education sector roadmap covers same objectives of the European Union in revamping the sector.
“Our focus is shifting to basic education, out of school children, adolescent girls who needs to be trained and empowered.
“Our government is ready to commit 25% of the budget on education, all the President needs according to him is policies that will justify that budget and that is what we are working on.”
EU to invest €5.4 million euros on teachers’ training
News
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
By: Michael Mike
A former coordinator of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has called on the political class across party lines to support ongoing security efforts of the federal government.
Onaiwu in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday noted that insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation and was religious neutral, therefore, the need for politicians to eschew partisan slant on security matters.
He cautioned that failure by the political elite to support the fight against insecurity leading to several ungoverned spaces could disrupt elections, stressing that except there is a country, then elections are guaranteed.
The former NGF coordinator particularly commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his coordination and strategic efforts in streamlining security policies and engagements in tackling insecurity.
According to him, the recent delivery of military hardware by the United States Government to Nigeria is a demonstration that the NSA was working and his recent foray to the U.S. is yielding the desired results.
“The season requires patriots and this means that irrespective of party affiliations, every politician worth his name needs to support ongoing security efforts as coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
“Insecurity is colour blind, has no party affiliation, it is religious blind and those not respect societal status. Therefore, Nigerians, especially our political class, should lend their support, proffer solutions and galvanise the people to back the government’s security initiatives.
“Only on Tuesday, the federal government received critical military hardware from the United States Government. This is cheering and it shows that the NSA’s recent visit to the United States and the subsequent hosting of delegations in the country is bearing the desired results.
“Also, renewed military and police onslaughts against terrorists and bandits show that the federal government is taking the fight to those who are intent on denying us our peace and well-being.
“The least we can do as citizens is to support the government, provide real time intelligence from our communities and do not engage in fake news on social media against government’s efforts,” Onaiwu stated.
He further called on governors to match the energy of the federal government by supporting the NSA to address the various security challenges in their states as well as continued logistics and equipment to the military and police.
Ex-NGF Coordinator Onaiwu urges support for NSA security direction
News
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
By: Michael Mike
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, is facing possible committal to prison following contempt proceedings initiated over an alleged failure to comply with a Federal High Court order relating to the abduction and disappearance of Mr. John Chukwuemeka Anozie.
The action was instituted by legal counsel to Mr. Anozie’s wife, Mr. Vincent Adodo, who accused the Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the IGP of willfully disobeying a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 24, 2025.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/865/2025 between Mrs. Nnenna Anozie v. Inspector General of Police, Justice Binta Nyako ordered the IGP to produce for prosecution operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) alleged to have abducted Mr. Anozie from his Lekki residence in Lagos on June 15, 2017.
The court also directed the police authorities to forward the investigation report and legal advice on the matter to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for appropriate action.
The court further awarded ₦2 million in damages against the IGP for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Mrs. Anozie seeking details of investigations into her husband’s disappearance.
The SARS operatives listed in the judgment include officers attached to the former SARS unit in Akwuzu, Anambra State, who were accused of involvement in the alleged abduction.
According to court documents, despite being served with the judgment in October 2025, the IGP has neither complied with the orders of the court nor paid the damages awarded. This development prompted Mrs. Anozie’s legal team to initiate contempt proceedings by serving the IGP with Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order) and Form 49 (Notice of Committal to Correctional Centre).
The applicant is now seeking an order of court committing the IGP to Kuje Correctional Centre until he complies fully with the judgment.
The motion for contempt has been scheduled for hearing on February 9, 2025, before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force has not issued an official response to the contempt proceedings.
Court Threatens Contempt Action Against IGP Over Alleged Disobedience in Anozie Abduction Case
News
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
Urges African entrepreneurs to close ranks to fully harness continent’s huge potentials
By: Our Reporter
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has lauded the transformative impact of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the global entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem that has raised over $1.5 billion dollars and created over 30,000 direct jobs in 20 years.
He, however, urged African entrepreneurs to close ranks in order to fully harness the continent’s huge potentials, leveraging MIT’s resource mobilization network and job creation opportunities.
The Vice President made the remarks on Wednesday when he received a delegation from Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025-2026 led by MIT’s Executive Director for the Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, Dina Sherif, on a courtesy visit at the presidential villa.

Senator Shettima called for unity of purpose among African professionals and entrepreneurs, saying “Africa is the new frontier and future belongs to the continent but its people must unite to transform potentials into tangible results that impact lives and livelihoods.
“Africa is blessed with enormous human and material resources but its people must fuse into one to benefit from the tremendous opportunities that abound across the continent,” he added.

He disclosed that Nigeria President Bola Tinubu is daring to leverage available opportunities to transform the entire economy, noting that “President Tinubu is not afraid of taking bold decisions that will reposition Nigeria’s economy and better the lives of the livelihoods of the people.”
Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the delegation, Sherif, said the delegation was at the Presidential Villa to brief the Vice President on the activities of MIT’s Kuo Sharper Centre for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship, assuring that the Centre is dedicated to “fueling the engine of entrepreneurship across the world”.
She noted that the team was in Nigeria in view of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship programme, which, according to her, has helped to entrench the spirit of entrepreneurship across the continent.

Sherif underscored the significance of collaboration among African startups, noting that Nigeria is a leading country, as evidenced in the progress recorded by startups across the continent.
She further assured of improved support for African-based startups from the centre through its various initiatives.

Also present at the meeting with the Vice President were the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and some fellows of the Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellowship 2025 – 2026 Session across Africa.
VP Shettima Lauds Massachusetts Tech Institute’s Impact On Global Innovation Ecosystem
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