The Presidency on Friday clarified the Federal Government’s position on the Almajiri system, saying that while proscribing it remained an ultimate goal, there was no immediate plan to ban the system.

The Presidency stated that in pursuing the objective of ensuring that every Nigerian child had compulsory basic education, the government would consult relevant authorities widely before taking a decision on whether to ban the Almajiri system or not.

In a statement by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, the Presidency noted that the reactions trailing the President’s speech at Thursday’s meeting of the National Economic Council were needless, as he had yet to pronounce a ban on the system.

It said, “Indeed, the Federal government wants a situation where every child of primary school age is in school rather than begging on the streets during school hours. At the same time, we don’t want to create panic or a backlash.

The National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno ( retd.), while briefing State House Correspondents after the NEC meeting on Thursday, had said that the government would eventually ban the system.

He had stated, “The group I spoke about on illiteracy is the Almajeri. Ultimately, government will have to proscribe this Almajiri phenomenon.