The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, has affirmed that educating women and girls remains the smartest investment any nation can make to break the cycle of poverty. He stated that “educated girls are more likely to secure employment, educate their children, and uplift entire communities.”
The minister highlighted key government interventions aimed at improving access to quality education. These include vocational and technical education programmes, the Nigeria for Women Project, a $1.2 billion World Bank initiative running across 21 states, and the upcoming Flow with Confidence project championed by the First Lady to keep girls in school.
Other initiatives are the establishment of mega-schools, scholarships, and the distribution of learning materials in states such as Edo and Gombe.
Dr. Alausa also emphasized recent curriculum reforms which will reduce the number of subjects in primary schools from over 20 to between six and nine starting in the 2025/2026 academic session.
He explained that the change will ease academic pressure on pupils and ensure that skills are better aligned with real-world needs, which will improve future employability and reduce poverty rates.
The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, noted that closing the gender gap could add $229 billion to Nigeria’s economy by 2030. She pointed to reforms in states like Adamawa, Rivers, and Niger as steps already being taken to drive women’s empowerment and gender equality.
NESG Chairman, Mr. Olaniyi Yusuf, stressed the importance of taking bold action beyond dialogue to drive measurable progress. Keynote speaker Oley Dibba-Wadda urged Africans to reclaim their stories through technology, while PIC Chairman, Mr. Udeme Ufot, underscored the summit’s role in shaping policy. He added that the outcomes will be documented in the Purple Book, which will serve as a roadmap for reform and accountability.