The Niger House of Assembly has urged Governor Umaru Bago to ban the celebration of Markers’ Day and sign-out activities in all public and private secondary and tertiary institutions across the state.
The Assembly passed the resolution following a motion by the member representing Tafa Constituency, Muhammad Idris, who lamented the negative consequences associated with such celebrations.
Idris argued that though the celebration was initially meant to be a harmless farewell gesture by graduating students, it has degenerated into unruly behaviour, rising incidents of misconduct, and immoral activities.
He warned that the trend poses threats to the moral and intellectual development that the state’s educational system seeks to promote, calling on Bago to issue an executive order banning such celebrations.
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“The ongoing trend of signing out from schools, which is presumably intended to be a celebration by final-year students, has recently been characterised by unruly behaviour and misconduct,” Idris argued on the floor.
Meanwhile, the motion was unanimously adopted by other lawmakers, who described it as a timely intervention in response to growing public concern.
The Deputy Speaker, Afiniki Dauda, who presided over the plenary, assured the House that she would collaborate with the Governor and the Ministry of Education to ensure a swift enforcement of the ban.
In another development, the House also passed a Private Member Bill amending the law establishing the Minna Institute of Technology and Innovation.
According to lawmakers, the amendment was necessary to align the institution’s principal law with current industry trends, modern educational needs, and institutional realities.
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