The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has announced a N2 billion Learners Retention Support Programme to help 100,000 vulnerable pupils overcome financial barriers to basic education. She also flagged off the nationwide distribution of two million sanitary towels and back-to-school learning materials to girls in public schools.
Speaking on Monday at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, the First Lady disclosed that each beneficiary will receive N20,000 under the initial phase of the scheme. The intervention, tagged ‘Flow with Confidence 2.0’, will be executed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Mrs Tinubu stated that the initiative was designed to remove impediments that force young girls, particularly in rural communities, to abandon their education.
She charged state officials, traditional rulers, and religious leaders to ensure transparency in the distribution process and challenge the stigma surrounding menstrual hygiene.
“Keeping our girls in school requires us to recognise and address the challenges that affect their education, especially those in rural communities, who often miss school because they do not have access to sanitary products,” the First Lady stated.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, confirmed that the menstrual hygiene intervention has been upgraded to a sustained institutional policy. He assured stakeholders that the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) will henceforth include the continuous supply of sanitary towels in its annual budgets.
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