Sagir Musa, the Jigawa commissioner for information, has sought the support of traditional institutions in the state towards successfully implementing the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.

Mr Musa made the appeal when he led the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) team on an advocacy visit to the Emir of Kazaure, Najib Hussaini, in his palace in Kazaure.

While introducing the team to the emir, Mr Musa said the visit aimed to inform the emirate council about the project and to solicit the support and cooperation of the emirate towards a successful implementation of the project in the state.

The commissioner, who described the traditional rulers as those closer to their people and other major stakeholders in the community, said their support remained vital in achieving the desired objectives of the project.

He appealed to the emir to use his position in mobilising communities in his domain to support the project by enrolling their children, particularly adolescent girls, in school up to the completion period.

He also thanked the emir for the warm reception of the team during the visit and hoped that the visit would serve as a milestone for achieving a better outcome.

The state coordinator of AGILE, Banawuro Fate, who gave an overview of the project, said it is a World Bank-supported project being implemented in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education.

Mr Fate said the project aimed at improving secondary education opportunities for girls, reducing the number of out-of-school children, especially girls, by providing all the necessary support to enhance effective teaching and learning.

He explained that some financial incentives are also provided under the project to support the enrolled adolescent girls in attending schools up to the competition period.

Mr Fate reiterated the state government’s commitment to education and listed the construction and rehabilitation of school buildings, digital literacy programmes, conditional cash transfers for adolescent girls, and second chance education for out-of-school girls as some of the benefits of AGILE.

According to him, the state government remains committed to improving the quality of education at all levels to benefit younger generations, particularly girls’ education, which is free from primary to the tertiary level.

In his response, the emir, Mr Hussaini, lauded the project and assured the traditional institution support in mobilising all stakeholders to work towards its success.

He said such a project aimed at providing education, particularly to girls who are future mothers, deserves maximum support to succeed.

(NAN)