The Oyo State government has said that plans are in place for the implementation of the Girl Child Programme, targeted at girls between ages 16 and 24 years.
The initiative, according to the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Professor Musbau Babatunde, is designed to comprehensively address the education concerns of girls across the country.
Babatunde dias that the Oyo State government will implement this in collaboration with TYDO-Leadership Academy, the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office, NASSCO, and Oyo State Operation Coordinating Unit, OYOSOCU.
He said that the process of implementing the girl-child programme is only for residents of the state.
He said in a statement, “The main objective of the programme is to select nothing less than 150 female beneficiaries across the country, who are between ages 16 and 24 years and have advanced in Senior Secondary School.”
He added that the program targeted at girls who have completed senior secondary education with good grades in Mathematics and English, would be mined from the National Social Register of the Poor and Vulnerable across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
He disclosed that the State Operations Coordinating Unit, under the supervision of the Oyo State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, will supervise the project.
He said the unit will supervise the deployment of about 150,000 sms, while responses would be received in Abuja.
He appealed to residents with active phone numbers to attend to the sms, when they receive any.
He added, “The intervention will use the call centre through 969 to address complaints from potential beneficiaries.”
The commissioner therefore charged those concerned to seize the opportunity given to Oyo State, to benefit from the programme maximally.