As the world marks this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, on Monday, joined the world to celebrate the girl child in the state at a brief event where vacated his seat for a 14-year-old girl, Aisha Katagum.
The day, set aside by the United Nations was first celebrated on October 11, 2012 globally.
Speaking after vacating his seat for a teenager, who is a student of Government Junior Secondary School, Katagum and other young girls who acted temporarily as members of the State Executive Council for some minutes, Governor Mohammed said the gesture was to encourage girls to redouble their efforts in seeking education.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ibrahim Kashim, the governor, who declared that raising and protecting children, the leaders of tomorrow, was a collective responsibility, added that vacating his seat for the girls would also expose them to the dynamic of leadership and governance.
“It is a privilege to have talented young girls taking over the governance of our state and it is a good thing to expose our children very early to such things as it will boost their confidence,” Governor Mohammed said.
The governor informed that his administration would continue to support girl child education in the state by providing a conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning for both teachers and pupils in schools across the state.
While assuring that his administration would continue to execute policies that would ensure the advancement of girl child education in the state, Mohammed informed that since inception two years ago, his administration had renovated hundreds of schools across the state, adding that more blocks of classrooms would be built and furnished.
He then expressed his administration’s commitment to executing more developmental projects capable of improving the living standard of citizens of the state, particularly children.
Also speaking on the occasion, the Education Specialist, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Mairama Dikwa, expressed appreciation to the governor for his commitment to the overall development of girl child education in the state.
Dikwa, who said that the International Day of the Girl Child was dedicated to the growth of girls and to promote their rights as well as highlight gender inequalities all over the world, informed that the theme of this year’s celebration was “Digital Generation”.
“On behalf of the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, we sincerely appreciate His Excellency, Governor Bala Mohammed for the opportunity given to the young girls by vacating your seat to them and we thank you for what you are doing in the area of education,” she said.
