By Atlantic Reports

The Federal Government has proposed contributing ₦84.48 billion towards a national strategy aimed at ending child marriage by 2030, with education, child protection and community engagement among its priorities.

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim announced the proposal on Tuesday night in Kano during a commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child and the launch of the North-west strategy to end child marriage.

She said the National Strategy and Costed Action Plan on Ending Child Marriage in Nigeria, 2025–2030, would guide implementation, financing, monitoring and accountability.

The proposal is a funding expectation, rather than confirmation that the money has been appropriated, released or spent.

Funding Responsibilities Still to Be Secured

Presenting the cost framework, the ministry’s Director of Economic Services, Musa Aliyu-Musa, put implementation over five years at ₦140.802 billion.

He said the Federal Government was expected to provide 60 per cent, approximately ₦84.481 billion, while development partners would contribute 40 per cent, approximately ₦56.320 billion.

The supplied account did not identify confirmed partner commitments, annual budget allocations or a disbursement timetable.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim said implementation would require clear financing arrangements and defined responsibilities for institutions at national and subnational levels.

The plan’s 2025–2030 title also leaves a timing question: the account did not explain what had been implemented since 2025 or how the proposed five-year expenditure would be scheduled before the 2030 deadline.

Tackling the Conditions Behind Child Marriage

The minister identified poverty, insecurity, exclusion from school and harmful traditional practices as factors the strategy seeks to address.

Its priorities include legal enforcement, changing harmful social norms, empowering adolescents and communities, strengthening child protection services, improving data and coordinating institutions.

For girls at risk, those commitments will need to translate into safe schooling, accessible protection and economic support that reaches their households.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the government was strengthening implementation of the Child Rights Act and working with states to coordinate interventions. The account did not specify state-level enforcement targets or mechanisms for responding when a child faces an imminent marriage.

Kano Highlights Education Measures

The minister said Kano could serve as a model for implementation, citing its influence in Northern Nigeria.

She highlighted scholarships for girls, free bus transportation for female students and the domestication of school re-entry guidelines for married adolescents.

Kano’s Permanent Secretary for Women Affairs, Children and Persons with Special Needs, Aishatu Abdulkadir, also cited the AGILE Project, the Girl Child Initiative and free and compulsory education policies.

The account did not provide enrolment, retention or re-entry figures showing how many girls had benefited.

Abdulkadir urged parents, community leaders and religious institutions to keep girls in school and protect them from exploitation. She said preventing early marriage aligned with the Islamic principle of Maslaha, which emphasises public interest and the prevention of harm.

Measuring Progress Towards 2030

Data presented at the event indicated that 17.5 million Nigerian girls and women had married before age 18, including 6.5 million before age 15.

These are figures presented at the event, not annual counts of new marriages. The supplied account did not identify their source or reference year.

Organisations including Girls Not Brides, Plan International, ActionAid and Girl Effect called for sustained domestic financing, stronger coordination and safe, inclusive education.

The strategy sets an ambitious goal. Its credibility will depend on secured funding, clear institutional duties and measurable reductions in child marriage, alongside evidence that more girls can remain in school and access protection.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.