Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra has described the denial of any child access to education as criminal, especially with the current free education policy in the state.

Mr Soludo stated this on Wednesday in Awka during the 2026 Children’s Day celebration themed, “Future Now: Promoting Inclusion for Every Nigerian Child”.

The governor said no child in the state should be out of school for any reason, adding that the state government would fully enforce its zero tolerance policy against out-of-school children.

“We will commence full enforcement. If we grab any child within school hours, we will criminalise it for the parents.

“We will arrest the parents and lock him or her up for a few days and insist the child goes to school.

“For me, it’s criminal to deny any child education, especially now that we have free education. Yet, one prefers roaming the streets begging or hawking during school hours,” he said.

The governor spoke in response to a six-point demand presented by the Speaker of the Children’s Parliament, Victory Ekwunife.

According to him, the punishment for children found roaming the streets during school hours would lie with their parents or guardians.

“As part of our reforms, we make the punishment lie on the parents. If he spends two days with the enforcement agencies, he or she will be compelled to send the children to school,” he said.

Mr Soludo said Anambra currently has the lowest number of out-of-school children in the country, noting that the state government was determined to reduce the figure to zero.

“The last figure by UNESCO, which we think is even outdated, was 2.9 per cent because that was before the free education policy.

“Some states have over 60 per cent, but our goal is to drive it to zero,” he said.

The governor also promised to provide suitable land for a Juvenile Correctional Centre in the state, stressing the need to separate child offenders from adult detainees.

“Putting child offenders in the same cell with adults isn’t right. We need to get a different place for them.

“We will also give more attention to inclusive education, especially for persons with disabilities, as well as a free toll line desk office for abused children,” he said.

Mr Soludo, who earlier delivered President Bola Tinubu’s message to Nigerian children, said the future of the country depended largely on the choices made for children today.

According to him, every Nigerian child deserves a sense of belonging irrespective of background, gender or physical ability.

“Inclusion must be the moral foundation of national development.

“Every single Nigerian child deserves the dignity of belonging, regardless of their background, gender, or physical ability,” he said.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Esther Onyekesi, commended the wife of the governor, Nonye Soludo, for her contributions to child welfare in the state.

According to her, the governor’s wife, through her Healthy Living Initiative, has improved the nutrition, welfare and wellbeing of children across the state.

Ms Onyekesi said the ministry remained committed to tackling child abuse, trafficking, child labour and street hawking through inter-agency collaboration and other interventions.

She urged children in the state to remain focused and avoid negative influences capable of distracting them from achieving their dreams.

“You are intelligent, creative, resilient and full of promise.

“Anambra State is counting on you to become our future leaders, innovators and responsible citizens,” she said.

The celebration featured march-pasts by schools and presentations by children’s groups from across the state. 

(NAN)