The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has backed calls for declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector.

Speaking at the National Conference on the Learning Crisis in Nigeria in Abuja on Wednesday, Chairman of the NGF, Governor Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman of Kwara State, said resources must be provided for sustainable and promising education.

The conference, organised by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has the theme: ‘Scaling Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in Nigeria’.

Represented by the Vice Chairman of the NGF, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Abdulrahman said education is in crisis.

He insisted that a state of emergency should be declared in the sector.

The NGF chairman stressed the need to remove all barriers, such as gender, poverty, location, disabilities, language and ethnicity, that could hinder children from accessing foundational literacy and numeracy.