… marking the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child observed on Sunday.
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu on Monday set in motion the nationwide distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels and back-to-school materials to schoolgirls, announcing a N2 billion support programme for 100,000 learners to reduce school dropout.
Speaking at the launch of “Flow with Confidence 2.0: Keeping Every Girl in School” at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, Mrs Tinubu said each beneficiary of the Universal Basic Education Commission’s (UBEC) Learners Retention Support Programme would receive N20,000 in the first phase.
She said the interventions were designed to remove financial and menstrual hygiene barriers to girls’ education, particularly in rural communities, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The event was part of activities marking the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, observed on Sunday under the theme, “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights”.
Mrs Tinubu said educating girls was vital to national development and called for collective action to prevent avoidable interruptions to their schooling.
“I am also pleased to learn that UBEC will be providing scholarship support under the Learners Retention Support Programme aimed at reaching 100,000 learners in its first phase which will be scaled up in subsequent phases.
“Each beneficiary will receive a grant of N20,000 to help address the financial barriers that can affect school attendance and retention”, she said.
Mrs Tinubu recalled that her Renewed Hope Initiative launched the original Flow with Confidence programme on October 2, 2025, supplying a year’s worth of disposable sanitary pads to 370,000 girls in rural communities nationwide.
She commended UBEC for taking over and expanding the programme to provide more girls with sanitary towels alongside essential school supplies, saying girls should be able to attend classes regularly and learn with dignity.
“Keeping our girls in school requires us to recognise and address the challenges that affects their education, especially those in rural communities, who often miss school because they do not have access to sanitary products”, she said.
The First Lady charged wives of state governors to supervise the distribution in their states, working with Commissioners of Education and chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards to ensure transparency and accountability.
“I charge you all to work closely with other stakeholders to make sure that the distribution is transparent, accountable and reaches every deserving girl”, she said.
She appealed to traditional and religious leaders to help eliminate the stigma surrounding menstruation, while urging schoolgirls to pursue their ambitions and seek help when necessary.
She said community leaders had a responsibility to change attitudes that prevented girls from discussing menstrual health openly or receiving the support they needed.
“I want you to grow into confident and courageous women ready to contribute meaningfully to our nation. Nigeria is counting on you and I believe in you”, she told them.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Government had moved to institutionalise menstrual hygiene support in basic schools, fulfilling a pledge made when the First Lady inaugurated the initiative last year.
He confirmed that the first phase had reached its target of 370,000 girls across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Alausa, UBEC will make annual budgetary provisions for sanitary towels, while the World Bank-supported Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) will sustain complementary support throughout the project’s duration.
“Today, we are translating that pledge into practical action. UBEC will make provision within its annual budgets to support the supply of sanitary towels to girls in public basic education schools”, he said.
He added that the ministry would work with state governments and schools to ensure that supplies reached the intended beneficiaries.
The Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, said menstrual health should never force girls to miss school, describing the intervention as a step towards inclusive and supportive learning environments.
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“As a Ministry, we recognise that no girl should have to choose between her education and her menstrual health”, she said.
Earlier, UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr Aisha Garba, explained that the back-to-school supplies included bags, shoes, exercise books, mathematical sets and writing materials.
She said the commission had, in less than three years, built more than 4,000 classrooms, supplied learning materials to over three million pupils and returned more than 700,000 out-of-school children to classrooms.
Garba added that UBEC had improved school security, provided water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, trained teachers and introduced digital learning interventions.
She said practical measures, including the provision of sanitary towels, could keep girls in classrooms who might otherwise be absent because their families could not afford menstrual products.
“Our message is clear: no girl should have to choose between her dignity and her education,” she said.
Chairman of the UBEC Governing Board, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, linked school dropout to child marriage and said keeping girls in classrooms helped protect their childhood.
“Every day we keep her in the classroom is a day her childhood is protected”, he said, pledging board oversight to ensure the materials reached their intended recipients.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, urged parents, teachers, community leaders and religious institutions to challenge practices that restrict girls’ access to education.
The Sultan, who was represented by the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Mera, said menstrual hygiene products and school materials would help families facing economic hardship, but stressed that implementation must be prompt, transparent and equitable.
He also called for sustained community sensitisation and collaboration among governments, traditional institutions and development partners.
The British High Commission representative, Ian Attfield, said UK-supported programmes had helped more than 1.5 million additional girls access education in northern Nigeria since 2012.
He noted that the $1.2 billion AGILE programme was expanding access to secondary education for girls in 21 states and said investment in schooling could reduce child marriage and increase women’s future earnings.
Mrs Tinubu formally inaugurated distribution of the sanitary towels and learning materials across the 36 states and the FCT at the event.
