Education

Abiodun signs Education, Skills Trust Fund Bill into law

Published

3 weeks ago

September 20, 2026

…Law creates new funding window for education, skills development

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Friday signed into law the State Education and Skills Trust Fund Bill, creating a framework for sustainable funding and improved management of the state’s education and skills development sector.

Speaking with journalists after the signing ceremony at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide, said the law would strengthen the delivery of quality education and improve outcomes across the state’s education system.

Elemide said the legislation was designed to make education “more meaningful, more qualitative and more constructive,” adding that it followed extensive consultations with members of the public and stakeholders.

“We are just trying to make education more meaningful, more qualitative and more constructive. It will be more encompassing; that is what the bill is all about,” he said.

The Speaker expressed optimism that the full implementation of the law would further strengthen Ogun’s education sector and sustain the state’s position as a leading education destination in the country.

He, however, stressed the need for greater private-sector participation, noting that the huge resources required to effectively fund education could not be provided by government alone.

“The private people too need to contribute. After all, they are the ones that will inherit these people after being educated,” Elemide said.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, said the Trust Fund would cover both formal and informal education, with particular emphasis on skills acquisition and vocational development.

He said the fund would provide an additional source of financing beyond the normal budgetary allocation and support critical areas including school infrastructure, bursaries, teacher support and maintenance.

“In other words, we have put in place a mechanism of ensuring that education can also still be funded through another source different from the normal budgetary allocation,” Arigbabu said.

The Commissioner explained that the state had been operating under an executive bill signed by the governor three years ago, adding that the passage of the legislation by the House of Assembly would provide stronger legal backing for the Trust Fund.

According to him, the law would also facilitate the integration of informal education into the state’s education system through the re-engineering of the traditional apprenticeship model.

Arigbabu disclosed that more than 9,000 youths had so far been trained in various vocations under the state’s skills-development initiatives.

He said the Education and Skills Trust Fund would therefore serve as an additional funding mechanism for the sector, particularly in expanding informal education, vocational training and other skills-development programmes across Ogun State.

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Education

Lagos targets 2,500 medical varsity intake, expands capacity

Published

2 days ago

October 9, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Lagos State Government is planning to increase the annual student intake of the Lagos State University College of Medicine from about 500 to 2,500 by 2028.

To accommodate the expansion, the government would be repurposing the former CACOVID Centre at Mainland Hospital, Yaba, as additional teaching space for LASUCOM.

The state added that the move was also in line with its plan to transform LASUCOM into a full-fledged University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency said the former CACOVID facility was identified as an existing public asset that could be repurposed to provide an interim solution to the space requirements.

The Head of the agency’s Project Management Unit, who represented its General Manager, Yemisi Aderibigbe, said the facility had become under-utilised after the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it available for conversion to a new public purpose.

She said the state approved the renovation and expansion in December 2024, with PCP Construction Nigeria Limited appointed as the contractor.

Aderibigbe said, “Work began in March 2025 and covered demolition and site works, structural construction, roofing, walling, fittings and finishes, as well as mechanical and electrical installations for the main and ancillary buildings.

“Today, we are therefore formally handing over this facility to the end users, the Ministry of Health and the Lagos State University College of Medicine for optimal use.”

The Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, described the project as part of the state’s effort to expand capacity to train health professionals as Nigeria continues to contend with the loss of medical personnel to migration.

He said the government’s approach was to expand the domestic pipeline of healthcare professionals while also creating conditions that could encourage skilled Nigerians abroad to return.

The Provost of LASUCOM, Olufemi Idowu, and other officials attended the handover.

The repurposed facility is expected to provide additional capacity for teaching and practical training as the college expands its intake.

Source: punchng.com

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Education

FG pays eight months’ allowance arrears to varsity workers

Published

3 days ago

October 8, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Days after non-academic workers in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education issued an ultimatum, the Federal Government has announced the release of their eight months’ arrears of the Consolidated Non-Academic Staff Tertiary Institutions Allowance.

The allowance covers January to August 2026.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced the release on Wednesday.

The payment, according to the minister, signals the Federal Government’s efforts to address staff welfare concerns across the tertiary education sector and ease tensions that could threaten the stability of the academic calendar.

“The release of CONTA demonstrates the administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare and recognition of the critical role played by non-academic personnel in keeping tertiary institutions functional,” Alausa said.

He said the payment was part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to address legitimate welfare concerns, promote industrial harmony and minimise disruptions to academic activities nationwide.

“The administration will continue to strengthen institutions responsible for developing Nigeria’s human capital. A stable tertiary education system is essential to the country’s socio-economic development,” he said.

Alausa further gave the assurance that the Federal Ministry of Education would sustain consultations with relevant unions, heads of institutions and other stakeholders to resolve outstanding issues.

He appealed for continued cooperation from academic and non-academic staff, institutional authorities and unions.

The minister said that the education ministry would continue to prioritise staff welfare, institutional stability, human capital development and improved learning outcomes.

“The Federal Government remains committed to fulfilling its obligations to personnel in the tertiary education sector and addressing outstanding welfare issues in line with the human capital development objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Alausa added.

Source: punchng.com

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Education

Edo varsity lecturer dies after hotel romp

Published

3 days ago

October 8, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

A senior lecturer at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Dr Matthew Uwuigbe, has died after reportedly collapsing in a hotel room following a sexual encounter with a 21-year-old commercial sex worker, identified as Angela Defa Jacob.

The incident occurred on Sunday at a hotel in the Mosco area of Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Uwuigbe had checked into the hotel with the woman and reportedly collapsed moments after the sexual encounter.

Confirming the incident on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, Eno Ikoedem, said three persons had been arrested in connection with the lecturer’s death.

She said, “On October 5, 2026, at about 8pm, the command received a report that Matthew Uwuigbe, a lecturer at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, had lodged at a hotel in Ekpoma and engaged the services of a 21-year-old sex worker, Angela Defa Jacob.

“He subsequently sent the woman to purchase water for him, and upon her return, she found him lying dead in the room.”

Ikoedem said the hotel owner, manager and the sex worker were in custody, while investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death continued.

She added that the deceased’s corpse had been deposited at the Oriaifo Memorial Hospital mortuary.

Meanwhile, the university’s Public Relations Officer, Otunba Mike Ade Aladenika, confirmed to PUNCH Metro that Uwuigbe was a staff member of the institution, but said the incident occurred outside the university campus.

He said, “We are not denying that he was our staff member, but whatever he did and what happened, it is his private life. The girl in question is not our student, and everything happened outside our institution.”

Source: punchng.com

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