Pinnacle Hotel, Sokoto, donates 10,000 exercise books, other learning materials to schools 

Pinnacle Hotel, Sokoto, donates 10,000 exercise books, other learning materials to schools

From Bashir Rabe Mani, Sokoto

In a boost to education in Sokoto State, the Pinnacle Hotel, Sokoto, has donated 10,000 exercise books and other learning materials for free distribution to students across primary and secondary schools in the state.

The donation, made on Saturday in Sokoto as part of the hotel’s Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, was formally received by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.

Speaking on behalf of the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Prof. Muhammad Ladan Ala, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Sanusi Aliyu Binji, commended the hotel for the gesture, describing it as worthy of emulation by other corporate organizations and humanitarian groups.

He assured that the Ministry will ensure judicious distribution of the materials and will continue to support such initiatives.

“The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education will continue to support this kind of initiative. Our doors are open to all humanitarian projects that require our support,” Dr. Binji said.

He also urged the hotel to extend similar support to the girl-child, particularly in the area of sanitary materials.

Dr. Binji used the occasion to clarify that the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, AGILE, project is not a World Bank bond, as being speculated in some quarters, but a fund of the Sokoto State Government.

That, he said, is why Gov. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto is making frantic efforts to construct new schools and renovate existing ones in every corner of the state, while providing chairs, tables, textbooks and exercise books to all students.

He said the Governor has approved the construction of mega schools in each of the three senatorial zones of the state, as well as a modern Almajiri boarding school where the contractor is already on site.

According to him, the administration has also provided school shuttle buses to convey children from their communities to school and back home, with adequate funds provided for servicing and maintenance.

Dr. Binji further disclosed that the Governor has cleared the WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS examination debts left by the past administration, amounting to N3.5 billion.

He also cited the establishment of the Nagarta All-Girls Science Academy, with students drawn from all 23 local government areas of the state to encourage girls to study science-related courses, adding that the school is completely free, including uniforms and other learning materials.

He noted that as a result of the huge investment, the performance of Sokoto State students in WAEC, NECO and NABTEB this year stands at 87 per cent, a development that has delighted parents, teachers and principals.

He congratulated the Commissioner, Prof. Muhammad Ladan Ala, for being named the Best Commissioner in the North-West region, and reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to equipping Sokoto students to compete favourably with their peers globally.

Also speaking, the District Head of Gagi, Sarkin Gagi, Alhaji Sani Umar Jabbi, while commending the invaluable gesture of the hotel, underscored the crucial importance of education to the socio-economic development of any society.

Describing education as the panacea to all problems, Alhaji Sani Umar Jabbi,urged other organizations to emulate the donor, with a a view to complementing the efforts of the government in funding education at all levels.

According to the Sarkin Yakin Gagi, the responsibility of funding is a collective one, stressing that the youths as the future leaders of Nigeria must be bequeathed with quality education.

Also speaking, the wife of the Chief Executive Officer ( CEO) of the hotel, Mrs Amaka Adinnu, said that the gesture was extended to the benefiting schools under the Pinnacle Humanitarian Care Initiative ( PHCI).

According to her, education is the foundation for the development of individuals, communities and the nation, saying, “when we invest in education, we invest in the future “