Issa-Onilu spoke in Abuja on Monday at the inauguration of
the joint committee set up to integrate national values and the national values
charter into the curriculum of Nigerian universities.

The NOA DG said the effort is a core part of the Nigerian
identity project (NIP), which he described as a national movement anchored on
shared responsibility and institutional transformation.

“The Nigerian promise outlines what every citizen deserves,
while the citizen codes define the values we are called to live by,” he said.

“These principles must be embedded in the hearts of our
young people, starting in our schools and culminating in our universities.”

The Nigerian Promise and the citizen codes are the two
pillars under the national values charter.

Issa-Onilu said the committee’s work will consolidate
progress already made in primary and secondary schools, where citizenship
studies have been fully integrated into the curricula.

He added that polytechnics and colleges of education are at
advanced stages of adopting the same framework.

He said the Nigerian promise rests on seven pillars,
including equality, democracy, entrepreneurship, peace and security,
inclusivity, freedom and justice, and meritocracy.

“Reward must come through effort, not favouritism,” he said.

The NOA DG said the citizen codes — including discipline,
respect, resilience, leadership and environmental awareness — would serve as
the ethical foundation of university learning.

He outlined seven institutional policies guiding the
project, including national cartoons for early learning, citizen brigades, the
global image campaign, the orientation programme for public officials and the
integration of value modules in NYSC and ITF schemes.

“This committee must ensure our universities don’t just
produce graduates but nurture citizens who carry the Nigerian identity with
honour and purpose,” he said.

“I hereby inaugurate this joint committee.”

Florence Onuoha, assistant chief academic planning officer
at the National Universities Commission (NUC), delivered remarks on behalf of
Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, executive secretary of the commission.

Onuoha commended the federal government for approving
citizenship studies and said the decision reflects a commitment to
nation-building and democratic consolidation.

She said the collaboration with NOA aligns with the NUC’s
mandate to ensure the orderly development of the university system under CAP E3
LFN 2004.

She added that the joint committee would engage academic
experts to develop the new curriculum in line with approved minimum academic
standards.

“The commission assures you that this joint committee will
do justice to the task assigned,” she said.