By Omoyeni Ojeifo
The First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, has called for deliberate action to ensure menstrual hygiene challenges do not prevent Nigerian girls from attending school, particularly in rural communities where sanitary products remain inaccessible.
Tinubu made the call on Monday at the launch of Flow with Confidence 2.0: Keeping Every Girl in School, held at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the First Lady, keeping girls in school required practical interventions to protect their dignity, improve attendance and ensure they could pursue their education without menstrual-related barriers.
She announced a planned scholarship intervention for 100,000 learners, with each expected to receive ₦20,000 to address financial challenges affecting school attendance and retention.
The first phase of the scheme is expected to involve ₦2 billion in support for learners.
Tinubu urged State First Ladies, commissioners of education and chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards to ensure transparent and accountable distribution of the intervention.
She also appealed to traditional rulers, religious leaders and community stakeholders to help end menstrual stigma and encourage girls to remain in school.
In his remarks, Dr. Maruf Tuni Alausa, the Minister of Education, described the initiative as a decisive step towards securing girls’ education and future.
He urged students to take advantage of government interventions and remain committed to their studies, while commending the First Lady, the Minister of State for Education and the Universal Basic Education Commission for supporting the programme.
Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, the Minister of State for Education, said the initiative demonstrated the government’s commitment to protecting girls’ dignity and addressing menstrual health and hygiene barriers to school attendance.
She urged girls to remain focused, work hard and believe in their potential.
Also speaking, Dr. Aisha Garba, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, said the programme reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing barriers to girls’ education.
“This programme reflects our shared commitment to ensuring that the barriers to girl child education are adequately addressed in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which prioritises the education and well-being of every Nigerian child as an essential pillar of National Development,” Garba said.
She empathized that the cost of menstrual products should not force girls to miss school or compromise their dignity.
“Our message is clear: no girl child should have to choose between her dignity and her education,” she said.
According to her, the programme built on the original Flow with Confidence initiative launched on October 2, 2025, which provided a one-year supply of disposable sanitary pads to 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities nationwide.
She also disclosed that UBEC had facilitated the construction of more than 4,000 classrooms nationwide in less than three years.
“More than three million pupils benefited from back-to-school materials in the preceding year, while approximately 700,000 out-of-school children had returned to classrooms through supported efforts,”she noted.
She appealed to state governments, State Universal Basic Education Boards, traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents, teachers and development partners to support transparent implementation.
“To our beautiful daughters, your dreams matter, your voices matter, and your future deserves every opportunity we can give you,” Garba said.
Garba reaffirmed UBEC’s commitment to working with the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, State Universal Basic Education Boards and development partners to improve enrolment, attendance and retention, particularly among vulnerable learners.
She said no Nigerian girl should be denied education because of poverty, menstrual hygiene challenges or other preventable barriers.
The initiative includes the distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels and back-to-school materials to girls in public basic education schools across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The materials include school bags, shoes, exercise books, mathematics textbooks and other writing materials.
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