The federal government has set aside N12.6bn to cater for the needs of children’s programmes in this year’s budget.

In his Children’s Day message, President Muhammadu Buhari asserted that every Nigerian child had the right quality and affordable education, as well as healthcare and other basic necessities for a good life “in a peaceful and secure environment.”

President Buhari also declared that his government was committed to safeguarding children in the country from all kinds of violence, including child labour and trafficking and forced marriages, among others.

The president expressed joy that the country could also celebrate the safe return of one of the Chibok girls, Amina Ali Nkeki, and many other abducted women and children who have been freed from the clutches of Boko Haram.

He also assured children and youth that his administration will not rest until the terror group, Boko Haram, is totally eliminated from the country, adding that he remains fully committed to fulfilling his promise of a better Nigeria for all the people.

President Buhari reaffirmed that the good health and well-being of Nigerian children remain a top priority on his agenda for national development and that his administration had demonstrated strong commitment in this regard with the allocation of N12.6 billion in the 2016 budget for vaccines and programmes to prevent childhood killer diseases such as polio, measles and yellow fever.

He listed other provisions in the 2016 budget, such as the school feeding programme for children at a cost of N93.1 billion, as measures that will ensure that more children go to school and enjoy the fun of learning and growing together with their peers.

The president, however, advised the children to imbibe and exhibit the virtues of hard work, diligence, discipline, honesty, prudence, selflessness and patriotism which, he said, are essential for the actualisation of the nation’s vision as a truly great nation.