Nigeria could achieve full national literacy by 2031 under the current education policies of President Bola Tinubu, according to Lagos State lawmaker, Hon. Temitope Adedeji Adewale.
Adewale, who represents Ifako-Ijaiye Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, made the projection on Saturday after inspecting a screening exercise for the distribution of free GCE forms to residents.
Commending the Federal Government’s efforts to engage young Nigerians in productive ventures, especially through education, Adewale singled out the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a transformative initiative.
Introduced by the Tinubu administration, NELFUND has, as of April 2025, recorded over 500,000 loan applications from students seeking admission into tertiary institutions nationwide.
“You see, Mr. President is doing everything possible to boost the literacy level in the country,” Adewale said.
“Given the way the government is going, by the end of President Tinubu’s second term in 2031, Nigeria will be boasting a 100 percent literacy rate, including resolving the issue of out-of-school children.”
The lawmaker also applauded state-level initiatives complementing federal efforts, noting Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s attendance at the graduation of 5,300 beneficiaries of the Lagos Skills Acquisition Programmes. “This means 5,300 residents are off the labour market,” he said.
Adewale disclosed that 400 free GCE forms are being distributed this year, alongside JAMB forms, under the Adewale Temitope Educational Initiatives (ATA-EI). Since inception, ATA-EI has given out more than 8,000 free GCE and JAMB forms, with at least 120 students currently on scholarships in tertiary institutions.
“This programme is part of my promise to ensure no student misses an opportunity because of financial constraints. Our goal remains to make Ifako-Ijaiye the most educated local government in Nigeria by 2031,” he stated.
Expressing optimism about the long-term impact of Tinubu’s policies, Adewale concluded: “Given another term with President Tinubu and our party in power, Nigerians will look back in the future and thank God we had this chance.”
