A bill seeking to prohibit public and civil servants in Nigeria from enrolling their children in private schools has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
The proposed legislation, titled “Private Institutions and Health Care Service Providers (Prohibition) Bill, 2025” (HB.2487), was sponsored by Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah (LP, Abia) and passed its first reading on Tuesday. The bill aims to compel government officials to use public education and healthcare services, thereby improving the quality and public confidence in those institutions.
Speaking to journalists, Hon. Ogah argued that the growing preference for private schools among public office holders is contributing to the decline of government-run educational institutions.
“Our founding fathers—Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa—were all products of public schools,” he said. “This trend of abandoning public schools is detrimental to our national development.”
Ogah pointed to alarming statistics showing Nigeria’s rising expenditure on foreign education. Between January and March 2024 alone, the country spent $38.17 million on foreign education, while the total for 2023 was $218.87 million. These figures, he said, reflect the lack of faith in Nigeria’s own educational system.
“The time to be patriotic is now. We can’t keep damaging the psyche of Nigerians by abandoning our public institutions,” Ogah said. “Our schools have become shadows of themselves due to lack of patronage by those meant to protect them.”
He stressed that the proposed bill is designed to end “educational tourism” among government officials and redirect focus toward rebuilding the country’s public education system.
Calling on citizens and the media for support, Hon. Ogah urged Nigerians to embrace a new national consciousness that prioritizes investment and trust in public education.
