Soludo made the announcement in Awka, while meeting with principals and head teachers in public primary and secondary schools.

It was reported that on Sept. 21, 2023, the governor announced free and compulsory education from nursery to junior secondary in public schools in line with his Solution Free Education policy.

He noted said that students of senior secondary in public schools would pay N5, 000 only as tuition fee.

Against this backdrop, the governor while meeting with principals and head teachers in public schools stated that from next week, the free education policy would be available to students of senior secondary in public schools.

He said this would further increase children’s access to education and ensure effective development of their personality, talents, mental and physical abilities.

“I want to assure you that even with the resource constraint; our administration will continue to work very hard to deliver on its mandate.

“I’m giving a directive that students in senior classes, who have already paid their N5,000 tuition fees for this term should be refunded,’’ he said.

He reiterated his administration’s dedication to human capital development and promised to continue making strides in this area.

Soludo also said that the government would commence payment of the N70, 000 minimum wage in October.

“We remain committed to investing in our people and this new minimum wage and free education initiative are testaments to our resolve.

“This move is expected to have a significant impact on the lives of workers and students in Anambra, improving their standard of living and access to quality education,” he said.

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Amb. Mariam Katagum, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment disclosed this in an interview with our reporter on Monday in Abuja.

According to her, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration through the Economic Sustainability Committee had announced specific programmes aimed at cushioning the impact of COVID-19 on MSME businesses.

“We have got the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to register 250,000 businesses free of charge.

“In Nigeria, we have a lot of these MSMEs but they are just never formalised, and they stay like that and some fizzle out because they are not able to access credit facilities.

“So part of this component so to register 250,000 businesses free of charge, when you say free of charge, it is this project that pays because CAC will not do it for us free.

“We also within it give 50 per cent discount for those other enterprises that want to register, so if you are not micro, small or medium, you do not get that kind of free registration.”

Katagum said the Federal Government, through the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) had commenced nationwide implementation of the National MSME Survival Fund and the Guaranteed Off-take Schemes.

She explained that both schemes were at the core of the N2.3 trillion stimulus package also known as the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) being implemented by the Federal Government.

“These programmes include among others, the N75 billion-MSME Survival Fund and Guaranteed Off-take Schemes of which I have the honour to chair the steering committee for the effective implementation of the projects.

“The project, which will run for an initial period of three months, is targeting 1.7million entities and individuals and has provisions for 45 per cent female-owned businesses and five per cent for those with special needs.

According to her, the project is borne out of the Federal Government’s commitment to help cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy by saving existing jobs and creating new job opportunities.

The minister said that other initiatives under the project include the Artisans and Transport Grants under which electricians, mechanics, plumbers, painters, taxi drivers and other artisans were being empowered with grants.

She said that the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme was to protect and sustain the income of vulnerable MSMEs by guaranteeing the offtake of their products.

She said the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme would provide grant for manufacturers of consumables such as hand sainitisers, face masks, liquid soap, disinfectants and processed foods.

Katagum said that the Payroll Support Schemes supports MSME payroll obligations by paying between N30, 000 and N50, 000 to between three, minimum and 10, maximum workers for three months.

According to her, MSMEs in this category are required to have a minimum of three and maximum of 50 Staff on their payroll to qualify for it.

She said that they must be in the hospitality industry, private schools, factory owners, law firms and hospitals, among others.

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Trump was hospitalised for coronavirus complications over the weekend.

The president subsequently made his first return to the Oval Office.

The ceremonial Marine guard was stationed outside the building, a sign that the head of state was inside.

In a video posted to Twitter later, Trump appeared outside the Oval Office to tout the cutting-edge medicine he was treated with.

He said he “wasn’t feeling so hot” when he went to hospital, but “they gave me Regeneron … It was, like, unbelievable, I felt good immediately.”

Trump, who was given an experimental antibody cocktail produced by drug-maker Regeneron, said he wanted to approve the treatment through an emergency use authorization.

“I want to get for you what I got and I’m gonna make it free,” he said, adding there were “hundreds of thousands of doses that are just about ready.”

“That’s much more important to me than the vaccine,” Trump asserted, appearing energetic.

It is unclear to what extent the approval process for new medicines can be speeded up.

“I think this was a blessing from God that I caught” the coronavirus, he said, calling the therapeutic a “cure.”

Trump earlier tweeted that he had been briefed on a Hurricane Delta and had spoken with the governors of Louisiana and Texas, two states that might get hit.

The president is likely still infectious, having first reported symptoms on Thursday.

Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters that there are “safety protocols” in place for the Oval Office.

“The president continues to work. He’s in very good health; we are pleased with his progress,” Meadows said several hours before Trump went to his desk.

The timeline of the president’s infection with coronavirus remains a mystery, in part as the White House refuses to disclose what it knows.

Trump tested positive on Thursday, after a busy week in which he hosted a massive Rose Garden ceremony to announce his Supreme Court pick, held campaign events and participated in the first presidential debate.

In addition to Trump, a number of White House staff, campaign aides and Republican lawmakers have tested positive for the new coronavirus since the end of last week – including people who were at the Rose Garden and on his debate preparation team.

Speaking to reporters, Brian Morgenstern, the deputy communications director for Trump, declined to reveal when the president last had a negative coronavirus test.

“We’re not asking to go back through a bunch of records and look backwards,” Morgenstern said.

His boss, Kayleigh McEneny, is currently in quarantine after having tested positive.

Trump appeared without a mask on the White House’s Truman Balcony on Monday evening, after he left the hospital following a three-night stay.

The president has kept up a steady deluge of tweets on a wide range of topics, including retweeting a number of random accounts which had posted flattering comments on him.

Trump wants to participate in next week’s debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the second face-to-face leading up to the November election.

Biden has insisted that Trump be virus-free.

Since being discharged from hospital, Trump has returned to comparing the coronavirus with the seasonal flu as he continued to downplay the pandemic and push for economic reopenings.

More than 211,000 people have died from the coronavirus since March in the U.S., by far dwarfing annual figures on flu deaths.

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