Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says Nigeria cannot progress as it grapples with a large population of children battling privation and out of school.

“At the heart of the At-Risk Children Programme is the idea that every Nigerian child counts. A nation will be measured ultimately by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens,” Mr Osinbajo pointed out.

He added, “We recognise that we cannot make progress as a people while a significant population of our children – those to whom the future belongs – are left on the margins of society, deprived of the opportunity to discover and fulfil their potential.”

Mr Osinbajo expressed this view in his special address at the At-Risk Children –Programme(ARC-P) Summit on Thursday at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.

In 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari made two crucial policy statements — first was the plan of the government to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within a decade, he said.

The vice president said the second was the strict enforcement of the laws on free and compulsory education for all children at the primary level.

“In 2016, the rule of law advisory team was established in the presidency. One of the team’s main tasks was to ensure that, following the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, there is an effective coordination of responses to cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV),” explained the vice president. “Since then, the team has supported the establishment of SGBV Response Teams across the country.”

Mr Osinbajo added that in 2021, on the advice of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, the president inaugurated the National Poverty Reduction (NPRGS) Committee.

He further mentioned that the omnibus term of reference of the committee was implementing any other effort that would enhance the attainment of the objective of lifting 100 million people out of poverty in 10 years.

“So the At-Risk-Children Programme ARC-P, domiciled in my office, is one of the independent initiatives of the NPRGS committee. It is an important component of the variety of government interventions designed to complement and support existing initiatives of our administration in dealing with the problems of vulnerable children and young people,” Mr Osinbajo stressed.

He expressed the belief that the programme will provide a safe space for the mentoring and training of these children with a specific emphasis on basic literacy and numeracy, health and nutrition, entrepreneurial skills, digital skills, sports and life skills, among others.