Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has revealed that the State has the highest number of out-of-school children in the South West, higher than the regional average.

According to the Governor, while the state records 10.3 per cent in primary school, the regional average is 6.2 per cent.

In Junior Secondary School, Ogun State, according to the Governor, records 12.1 per cent compared to 8.5 per cent in the south west average.

While the state surpassed the regional average of 19.2 per cent in the South West, in the Senior Secondary, by recording 20.9 per cent.

He however attributed the record to large student influx from other parts of the country and the population of the State.

He added that his administration is taking steps to address the situation.

"When you look at statistics, it shows that Ogun State has an unusually high percentage of out-of-school children in the southwest. In the primary sector, it shows 10.3 percent, compared to the southwest region's 6.2 percent. In junior secondary school, we have 12.1 percent, compared to 8.5 percent in the southwest average. In senior secondary, we have 20.9 percent, compared to 19.2 percent average in the southwest.

"But you know, statistics at times can be misleading, so when you look at the number of students we have in Ogun State compared to the number of students in, for example, a state like Ekiti, and you see Ekiti showing a lower number of out-of-school children, you can begin to understand why ours is high because we have by far more students than some of these states combined.

"That itself is not an excuse, but it is something to ensure that we deliberately begin to work in order to reduce this to the barest minimum. That means we are also interested parties in view of what we are going through in our state," he submitted.

Abiodun who stated this on Thursday when he received members of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children's Education, in his office, said the protesters were tools in the hands of manipulators.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Alternative Education, Hon. Almustapha Rabah, said Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children after Pakistan and India, urging all hands to be on deck to address the issue.