The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and his counter in Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, yesterday presented their scorecards, disclosing major policy thrusts of the government.
Keyamo, at the Ministerial Press Briefing Session, stated that to boost activities of local aviation industry, the aviation ministry was in the process of presenting ‘Fly Nigeria Bill’ to National Assembly for passage into law to ensure that local operators on international routes are prioritised before foreign airlines.
The minister stated the aviation sector’s determination to contribute to the country’s goal of achieving a $1 trillion economy through impactful reforms in the sector.
Also, as part of efforts to curb illegal activities by private aircraft operators in the country, he said the Federal Government had directed all private jet owners to submit their passengers’ manifest before receiving clearance for take-off from control towers.
The minister equally cautioned Nigerians against chartering private jets without verifying their licences, noting that government would not be responsible for passengers flying unlicensed aircraft.
He added that the ministry was about to sign Code Sharing Agreements between international airlines and local operators to boost their capacity.
IN his presentation, the education minister, Alausa, disclosed plans to enrol 10 million out-of-school children into the educational system with a focus on foundational learning within the next two years.
According to him, government will also be distributing 103 million textbooks to students, while the sum of N42.8 billion has been disbursed to a total of 440,000 applicants in the students’ loan scheme.
On infrastructure, the minister said government would renovate 195,000 classrooms, build 28,000 toilets, dig 22.900 boreholes and construct 14,700 fences to close the 43 per cent deficiency gap across the country.
To further boost education in the country, the minister said 7,200 new schools would be constructed, 9,788 teachers trained and two million teaching aids provided.
Other projects include the planned six months’ free skills training of Nigerians to address the two million job vacancies in the sector.
According to him, the government is committed to promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to meet the country’s skill gaps, through the Digital Training Academy (DTA), which will equip students with the skills needed to support various industries.
MINISTER of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said posterity will judge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu kindly for steering the affairs of Nigeria with the fear of God.
Speaking, yesterday, , Idris said reforms being implemented by the President were not only well-intentioned, but also crucial for the growth and development of the country.
Stating that the country had crossed the Rubicon and “pains gradually easing as the positive impact of reforms began to manifest”, he added that the witnessed reduction in food prices, stability in exchange rates as well as the gradual decline in petroleum products’ prices “are clear indicators that the reforms are yielding positive results.”
