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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
A Coalition of Civil Society Organizations has appealed to the federal government to delist to delist the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC) from the list of professional bodies and councils, it intends to stop funding from 2024.
The convener of the group, Victor Nse Udo, who spoke at a press briefing, in Abuja, said it is anti-people policy for the government to stop funding an agency like NMEC, which mandate is to combat illiteracy in the country.
The Director General of the Budget Office, Ben Akubueze, recently, stated that the government will stop funding professional bodies and councils, with effect from 2024.
However, Udo, who applauded government’s decision to stop the funding of professional bodies, opined that the NMEC must have been mistakenly added to the list of affected bodies. He explained that the agency, despite inadequate funding does not charge fees, and as such should not have been included in the list of bodies the government intend to stop funding.
According to him, “while applauding the federal government for its decision to de-fund professional bodies and revenue generating councils, the coalition of Civil Society Organizations is shocked and worried at the inclusion of agencies with a mandate to provide mass literacy, adult and non-formal education on the list of agencies to be de-funded from 2024.
“One such agencies mistakenly included in the list is the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC). We consider it as a mistake of immense proportions as the rest of the world is devoting even more funds to eradicate illiteracy and its concomitant effect from their societies.
“With the high number of illiterate adult population in Nigeria, it is an anti-people policy for the federal government to de-fund any commission which performs one of the most important mandates among government institutions vis a vis eradicating illiteracy in our country.”
Consequently, he implored call on President Bola Tinubu to direct the Budget Office and other relevant agencies to sustain the funding of NMEC and related agencies, as well as increase their budgetary allocation, owing to the critical roles they play in the polity.
