By MUHYIDEEN JIMOH

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has reaffirmed the Presidency’s support for the Special Committeee on Campaign Against Social Vices in Secondary and Tertiary Institutions.

Gbajabiamila made the assurance during a meeting with committee members led by Prof. Jerry Ugokwe at the State House, Abuja, stressing the Initiative’s importance to national development and youth moral wellbeing.

He described the committee’s mandate as critical to Nigeria’s future and warned that rising social vices among youths constituted a growing national concern requiring deliberate and coordinated intervention.

“Many reforms of the Federal Government are youth-focused and forward-looking,” Gbajabiamila said, cautioning that failure to guide and support young people could undermine the long-term gains of those initiatives.

The Chief of Staff emphasised a whole-of-society approach involving parents, teachers, religious leaders, and communities, noting that the challenge of social vices had assumed near-pandemic proportions globally.

He stressed the strong link between law and morality, describing moral reorientation as fundamental, and urged the committee to think innovatively while adapting to changing societal realities.

Gbajabiamila assured the committee of collaboration and support, including engagement with corporate bodies through Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, and announced a N50 million seed donation, starting with N25 million in the first tranche.

Earlier, Committee Chairman, Prof. Jerry Ugokwe, appreciated the Presidency for establishing the initiative, noting the mandate included tackling cultism, drug abuse, examination malpractice, cybercrime, and other offences in schools.

Ugokwe said the committee had held major engagements in Edo and Kwara States and appealed for support, including approval for a grand national launch at the State House Conference Hall.

In his remarks, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Student Engagement, Sunday Asefon, highlighted the urgency of the intervention to curb social vices among students in schools and tertiary institutions.

He also disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education made a N7 million budgetary provision for the committee in the 2025 fiscal year to support its activities and programmes nationwide.

Asefon added that the committee’s work aligns with the administration’s youth development and nation-building agenda, underscoring its role in fostering discipline, education integrity, and ethical conduct among Nigeria’s young population. (NAN)