By Julius Peter,

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Nasarawa State, Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, has reaffirmed his commitment to educational development, declaring that investment in education remains fundamental to building a prosperous future for the state.

Wadada made the commitment while commissioning a block of nine classrooms, a science laboratory and an office at Government Secondary School, Mararaba Gurku, in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The project, according to the governorship candidate, forms part of his commitment to improving educational infrastructure and providing students with a safe, conducive and well-equipped environment for learning.

He described education as the foundation of every meaningful development aspiration, stressing that children must be given access to quality learning facilities to enable them to develop their potentials and achieve their ambitions.

According to him, a child who learns in a safe and properly equipped classroom has a better opportunity to become whatever he or she dreams of becoming.

Wadada, however, maintained that improving education goes beyond constructing classroom blocks, noting that sustainable progress in the sector requires deliberate attention to teachers’ welfare, effective performance monitoring and accountability in the utilisation of public resources.

He identified three major areas of focus in his education development agenda, namely supporting teachers to deliver quality education, using data to improve educational performance and ensuring that every investment in the sector translates into better learning outcomes for students.

On teachers’ welfare, he emphasised that good classroom infrastructure must be complemented by motivated and adequately supported teachers, who remain central to the delivery of quality education.

He noted that teachers must be empowered with the necessary support and working conditions to enable them to discharge their responsibilities effectively.

On the use of data, the APC governorship candidate said educational performance must be monitored through measurable results and evidence-based decisions rather than assumptions.

He explained that tracking students’ and schools’ performance would help identify gaps, measure progress and guide the development of appropriate interventions to address challenges in the education sector.

Wadada also stressed the need for accountability in public expenditure, insisting that every naira invested in education must produce tangible improvements in the quality of teaching and learning.

He said the ultimate objective of educational investment should be to improve the academic experience of children and prepare them for future responsibilities.

The commissioning ceremony attracted several political and public office holders, including Professor Abdulkareem Kana, APC National Assistant Secretary; Dr Ahmed Aliyu Tijjani, Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI); and Hon. Daniel Ogazi, APC candidate for the Keffi, Karu and Kokona Federal Constituency.

Also in attendance was Hon. Ibrahim Bulus, Deputy Chairman of Karu Local Government Area, who represented the Executive Chairman of the council.

Beyond the newly commissioned facilities at Government Secondary School, Mararaba Gurku, Wadada disclosed that additional classroom construction and renovation projects were ongoing in five other public schools across Karu, Nasarawa, Toto and Kokona local government areas.

The projects include the construction of three classrooms at Government Secondary School, Karshi, in Karu Local Government Area.

At Central Primary School, Ara, in Nasarawa Local Government Area, work is ongoing on another three-classroom block.

Similarly, Primary School, Umaisha, in Toto Local Government Area, is benefiting from the construction of three additional classrooms.

In Kokona Local Government Area, three classrooms are being constructed at Government Secondary School, Ninkoro, while renovation work is ongoing on three classrooms at Government Secondary School, Dari.

The additional projects are expected to expand available learning spaces, improve the condition of existing school facilities and provide students and teachers with a more comfortable environment for academic activities.

The construction of a science laboratory at Government Secondary School, Mararaba Gurku, is also expected to support practical science education by providing students with opportunities to complement theoretical classroom lessons with experiments and hands-on learning.

Education stakeholders have repeatedly emphasised the importance of adequate classroom facilities, functional laboratories and motivated teachers in improving the quality of basic and secondary education.

The projects outlined by Wadada cover different communities across the four local government areas, with interventions targeting both primary and secondary schools.

He described the ongoing interventions as part of a growing commitment to educational development, assuring that efforts to improve school infrastructure would continue.

The APC governorship candidate maintained that every classroom constructed or renovated represents an investment in the future of children and the overall development of Nasarawa State.

He reiterated his determination to give education priority, stressing that the future of the state depends significantly on the quality of education provided to its younger generation.

The commissioning of the facilities at Mararaba Gurku, alongside the additional projects across the state, has brought educational infrastructure and teacher support into focus in the ongoing political discussion about the future direction of Nasarawa State.

Wadada’s three-point education commitment places emphasis not only on physical infrastructure but also on teacher support, data-driven educational management and accountability in public spending.

He reaffirmed that education would remain central to his development priorities, declaring that every investment in schools must ultimately translate into improved opportunities and a better future for the children of Nasarawa State.