ABUjA – Britain and Norway have donated one million pounds and 10 million Norwegian Kroners, respectively, to the Safe School Initiative (SSI) fund, Information minister Labaran Maku said on Wednesday.
Maku told State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja that the African Development Bank (AfDB) contributed one million dollars while its president, Mr Donald Kaberuka, made personal donation of 50,000 dollars.
He said the German government was processing a contribution of two million euro to the fund adding that the Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a member of the Federal Government’s steering committee on the fund, announced the donations to council. [eap_ad_1] “Today in council the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, announced a number of contributions to the Safe School Initiative by friends of Nigeria.
“The Norwegian government has already donated 10 million Norwegian Kroners to the Safe School Initiative and this amounts to about 1.5 million dollars.
“Also, the African Development Bank has made a contribution of one million dollars, and the AfDB president, Donald Kaberuka, also made a personal donation of 50,000 dollars.
“The British government has also made a donation of one million pounds to the Safe School Initiative.
“According to the CME (Coordinating Minister for the Economy), the German government is presently processing a contribution of two million euro to the fund.
“This, indeed, is heart-warming and we appreciate these contributions because they will go a long way in providing the resources to provide safety and security for schools in the affected states.’’
He expressed the Federal Government’s appreciation to the donors, saying that their gestures further showed that Nigeria was not alone in the fight against insurgency in the country.
Maku appealed to well-meaning Nigerians, foundations, development agencies and philanthropists from within and outside the country to contribute to the SSI as well as the Victim Support Fund.
President Goodluck Jonathan launched the SSI programme in July to provide security for schools in the North East in response to terrorist attacks on the rights to education in the zone.
The SSI is a brainchild of Mr Gordon Brown, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, in collaboration with Nigerian business leaders. (NAN)
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