Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State yesterday assured the State Children’s Parliament of his administration’s readiness to liaise with the relevant legal authorities in the state for the domestication and enactment of the Child Rights Act in the state
The Governor who was speaking after receiving a communiqué from the Parliament after a plenary session with the governor at the Government House, Enugu noted that the state government takes the responsibility of protection and development of full potentials of children very seriously.
He added that the state government had pioneered many efforts to ensure that children in the state enjoy in full, the rights, privileges and the protection that they deserve
According to the governor, the state’s free education programme for children up to junior secondary school level is very much on course and yielding the desired results.
In his words, “We are sustaining and strengthening the much acclaimed Free Maternal and Child Health-care programme which he said has remained a remarkable success story that has continued to earn the state plaudits from relevant local and international organizations.”
He also added that the state government is strengthening its partnerships and collaborations with UNICEF and similar agencies on various aspects of child education, health and general welfare.
He said, “Through the State Ministry of Gender Affairs, we have also virtually stamped out child trafficking in Enugu State while making significant progress in the war against other forms of child abuse.
Earlier, the Speaker of the Parliament, Miss Maduko Winifred read and submitted a Communiqué after a plenary session held with Governor Ugwuanyi at the Government House calling on the state government for the domestication of child rights act passed by the federal government in 2002.
The Communiqué noted that passage of the bill in the state is needful considering the plight of Enugu State Children who face incessant and varying degrees of abuse and neglect.
It expressed dissatisfaction that Enugu State is currently the only state in the southern Region of Nigeria that is yet to pass the bill into law.
The parliament called for immediate set-up training and empowerment of the state Child Rights Implementation Committee to ensure the speedy and efficient implementation of the bill following its passage and signing into law.
