She further appreciated the support of the Lagos State Government, through the ministry of basic and secondary education, for creating an enabling environment for private sector players to contribute their quota to the development of education in the state.

The 2nd edition of the Annual Educating The Educators Training and Consultancy (EET&C) Spelling Bee competitions amongst Junior and Secondary schools in Lagos State, will be held on the 28th of May 2025.

This was disclosed by the Principal Consultant EET & C, Ms Adeolaoluwa Badejo

She explained that the competition which is approved by the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, will be held in all six Education districts of Lagos State with finalists from each District proceeding to the State finals, which features separate categories for the junior and secondary schools.

On the motive for the spelling bee competition amongst public schools, she said, “As educators, we have to improve literacy communication and language development leveraging the power of reading and spelling as a tool for lifelong learning”.

Ms Badejo a teacher, trainer and early childhood education specialist, emphasised the need to promote a reading culture amongst students across the state, and expressed optimism that the spelling bee competition will encourage the students to broaden their vocabulary and not shy away from seemingly difficult words in the course of their study.

She further appreciated the support of the Lagos State Government, through the ministry of basic and secondary education for creating an enabling environment for private sector players to contribute their quota to the development of education in the state.

She also highlighting the immense progress and revitalisation of the education sector as a whole under the THEMES+ agenda of The Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-olu.

The preliminaries kick off with District 4 Finals at the Lagos City College, Yaba, on the 28th of May 2025, with other District finals following, culminating in the State finals, which will be held on the 25th of June 2025.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has clarified its stance regarding the nationwide ban on sachet alcohol.

The Director of the FCT Directorate of the agency, Kenneth Azikiwe, in Abuja on Monday, said the temporary lifting of the ban was only valid until Dec. 31, 2025.

He emphasised that the recent ministerial lifting of the ban was not permanent and urged the public to disregard misinformation suggesting that the government had permanently lifted the restriction.

“There is a ministerial lifting on the ban of sachet alcohol, but it is only temporary and will be reviewed by Dec. 31, 2025.

“After this date, the full enforcement of the ban will commence.“

The minister granted this temporary relief to allow manufacturers and regulators time to collaborate and ensure a more structured and effective implementation of the ban,” Azikiwe stated.

He highlighted NAFDAC’s ongoing efforts to sensitise the public across the country, noting that awareness campaigns had reached every state.

“We have sensitised distributors, and we’ve emphasised that alcohol should not be sold to individuals under the age of 18, which is also clearly indicated on product labels,” he added.

Azikiwe also commended the Distillers and Beverages Association of Nigeria for supporting the awareness drive.

He reassured the public that NAFDAC remained fully committed to regulating alcohol consumption and reiterated that sachet alcohol products containing less than 200 millilitres would be phased out after December 2025.

NAN

• Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Leader of the Patriots

The Patriots has shifted its national political summit from May 27–28 to June 11 and 12 in Abuja

A statement from its Secretariat said that the new date was due to the 26th anniversary of Nigeria’s return to civil rule on May 29. 

It was learned that among issues proposed for discussions are: provision for judicial adjudication of corruption and betrayal of trust matters, remuneration of members of the National Assembly, remuneration and compensations in the public service, electoral system, political party structures, revenue management format, security architecture, and fiscal arrangement.

Other items on the list are management of resources and revenue, concurrent functional responsibilities, regional border changes and disputes, as well as equal rights among federating regions, basis of state government, status of the federal capital territory (FCT), federal Executive Council, powers and functions of the President, restructuring of states based ethnic homogeneity and other items are contained in the document.