The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Katsina State Government have signed a three-year work plan (2025 to 2027), to enhance the wellbeing of children in the state.
Speaking at the signing of the plan on Katsina in northern Nigeria, the UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kano, Mr Rahama Mohammed-Farah, said that the work plan was not just a document, but a testament to the shared vision for a brighter future for every child in Katsina State.
Mohammed-Farah, who was represented at the occasion by the UNICEF Health Manager, Dr Sereke Seyoum-Deres, said that the work plan covered the health, nutrition, education, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sectors and social policy.
“Children are the future of this great nation and investing in their wellbeing is not only a moral imperative, but a strategic decision that will yield long-term dividends for the state’s development,” he said.
The field officer said that polio virus remained a significant threat to the health of children in the state, adding that “eradicating polio must be our top priority in 2025”.
“We must dedicate all our efforts and resources to mobilising communities, raising awareness, and ensuring that every corner of Katsina is reached.
“The aim is to encourage parents to vaccinate their children.
“The Katsina Government must take the lead at the ward, district and local government levels to address vaccine refusals,” he added.
Mohammed-Farah urged the state government to leverage its own resources, explore public-private partnerships, and strengthen community-based initiatives to ensure that no child was left behind.
On reducing the growing number of out-of-school children, he said the government should improve the quality of early learning and increase school readiness from primary school level.
He said that UNICEF would remain committed to supporting the Katsina government to ensure that the remaining seven local governments attained Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, to be declared an ODF state.
Mohammed-Farah requested the government to prioritise child sensitive social protection interventions to combat multiple deprivations amongst children in both rural and urban areas.
In his remarks, the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, said that the partnership underscored the government’s commitment to improving the lives and wellbeing of children in the state.
He said the government would continue to focus on children’s education, in recognition of the critical role it plays in nation building.
Radda said that his administration had spent over N100 billion in the education sector on teachers recruitment, support to science and technical education, scholarship award and schools construction among others.
Minister woos French investors with Nigeria’s pro-business reforms
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, has urged French investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s ambitious economic reforms, dynamic market potential, and investor-friendly environment to invest Nigeria.
Speaking at the Nigeria Business Forum in Paris, France, the minister emphasized Nigeria’s commitment to fostering deeper economic ties with France.
He recalled that over 200 French companies attend the Business Forum in Nigeria in 2023.
The minister expressed appreciation to the longstanding French partners operating in Nigeria, including TotalEnergies, Lafarge, Peugeot, Danone, Alstom, Schneider Electric, among others, for their contributions across key sectors such as energy, infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing.
According to him, under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, Nigeria is undergoing an “unprecedented journey of reform,” driven by the Renewed Hope Agenda — an eight-point strategic plan aimed at unlocking the nation’s vast economic potential.
“These historic reforms are building a more competitive, transparent, and investor-friendly economy, positioning Nigeria as the gateway to Africa’s booming consumer market under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” he said.
Among the key reforms he highlighted included unification and stabilization of the foreign exchange regime, phasing out of fuel subsidies to curb leakages, and boost development funding and cost-reflective electricity tariffs to ensure sustainability.
Others are tax reforms to promote transparency and ease of doing business, legislative and fiscal measures to support private-sector-led growth, trade facilitation through the National Single Window, and digital reforms, including Immigration and border policy reforms to streamline movement and trade.
The minister underscored Nigeria’s unique investment appeal: Africa’s largest economy, a population exceeding 220 million — over 70% of whom are under the age of 35 — and more than 26 years of uninterrupted democratic governance, fostering political stability and institutional continuity.
He assured investors of a well-regulated, rule-of-law-based economy, supported by strong institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The Minister recalled that, in just 20 months, the Tinubu administration has reversed Nigeria’s fiscal trajectory, recording 3.84% GDP growth in Q1 2024, boosting revenue by over 20%, and significantly lowering the proportion of revenues spent on debt servicing.
“The government is acting as a catalyst for private sector growth through strategic initiatives like the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund (RHIDF), the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp), the Presidential CNG Initiative, the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF), and several others,” Idris noted.
“These initiatives are laying the foundation for leveraging trillions of naira in private sector investments across infrastructure, consumer credit, healthcare, real estate, and beyond.”
The minister also highlighted the expansion of Nigerian banks into Europe, including new offices in Paris, and projected increased Nigerian presence in France across creative industries, media, and technology.
He invited French companies—particularly in agribusiness—to explore new opportunities in Nigeria’s livestock sector, where the newly established Ministry for Livestock Development presents fresh avenues for partnership. Citing Danone’s global leadership in dairy products, Idris noted the potential for deeper engagement in this space.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s unwavering reform agenda, Idris echoed President Tinubu’s message during his 2024 visit to France: “We must brace up for the future with commitment and optimism, and with the courage of our founding fathers.”
According to Rabiu Ibrahim, special assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, while in Paris, the minister will also hold bilateral meetings with leading French media and cultural institutions including France Médias Monde, the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM), the Ministry of Culture, and Thomson Broadcast — as part of broader efforts to strengthen Nigeria-France cooperation in the information and broadcast sectors,
GIK/APA