Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Sen. Olamilekan Adeola says Nigeria has to give priority attention the education sector in order to develop human capital and achieve sustainable development.
Adeola (APC-Lagos West) made the assertion during the presentation of no fewer than 130 laptops to students and schools across his constituency on Monday in Lagos
.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the senator distributed the laptops to beneficiaries under his Yayi Education Support (YES) initiative.
Adeola said a strong education sector was indispensable to development.
“We are in a dynamic world where education is key; education is one core area which we must focus on to achieve sustainable development.
“The difference between developed countries like UK, US and Nigeria is the difference in literacy levels and quality of education.
“So, we must bridge that gap. We must ensure that education gets priority attention at all levels of government.
“Yes, there may be infrastructural challenges, social challenges and all other challenges.
“While we are trying to address that, we must ensure that education gets the deserved attention because it is key to development”, he said.
Adeola said he distributed the laptops to selected outstanding students of secondary schools in his constituency to promote education and encourage hard work and excellence.
He said he had also trained teachers in schools across the constituency on ICT, and the distribution of two laptops to each school in Lagos West was to aid teaching .
The senator said he was a product of the public school system and believed that such schools would be better with good teaching and learning facilities.
Adeola said he was supporting schools across the 10 Local Government Areas in the constituency with ICT centres to promote ICT-based teaching and learning.
He urged the beneficiaries of the laptops to use them to perform much better in their studies.
The senator said he was passionate about the people of his constituency and would continue to do his best to serve them.
“Apart from these laptops we are giving today, we have done a lot in the different communities in the constituency.
“We have done street lightings, we have supported communities with transformers, empowerment items and all that.
“We are passionate about this constituency and will continue to do our best to serve our people”,he said.
Also speaking, Mr Funsho Ologunde, APC Vice- Chairman, Lagos West, commended the senator for the gesture.
He said the distribution of the items meant the senator was passionate about education as well as the welfare of the people.
Ologunde urged the beneficiaries not to sell the laptops but to put them to good use for their educational development.
A beneficiary, Master Abubakar Jinadu, a student of Cardoso Senior Secondary School, Badia, thanked the senator for the gesture.
“With this laptop, I can browse the internet and study better; I can better achieve my academic goals”, he said.
NAN reports that Adeola, shortly after the presentation, met with traders of Amu plank market Mushin, which was recently gutted by fire.
He sympathised with the traders over the devastation of the market and loss of their businesses, saying he was saddened by the incident.
Adeola said as a federal legislator, he would liase with the appropriate quarters to facilitate help for the traders.
He later gave a cheque of N2.5 milion to the traders as his personal support to the rebuilding of the razed market.
“This is just my widow’s mite. I will also do what I can do as a senator to help facilitate support for you from the federal government”, he said.
Alhaji Tajudeen Sanni, Chairman of the market, thanked Adeola for the cheque ,saying the senator had shown that he was a worthy representative with the donation.
He said the traders would appreciate further help from him on rebuilding the market .
