Edo First Lady launches Child Protection Policy

By Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

In a bid to strengthen the child protection system in Edo state, wife of the state governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, yesterday, launched the Edo Child Protection Policy.

Launching the policy book with executive members of the Edo Children Parliament and members of the State’s Child Right Implementation Committee at the Edo State Government House in Benin City, the Edo first lady, expressed delight that Edo pioneered the development and launch of such a policy in Nigeria.   

“This administration wants to produce medium manpower through vocational skills acquisition because when people don’t have skills they are helpless. I will also like the introduction of vocational skills/handwork into the curriculum of primary and secondary schools in the state”, she said.

Meanwhile, the First Lady commended the proactive steps of members of the Edo Children Parliament to prevent abuse of children’s rights emphasising that the government was set to end child trafficking, strengthen the newly established family court with better staffing and provide help lines for children to report cases of abuses.

On the nature of the Children Parliament, its speaker, Mrs. Abieyuwa Efeomo, revealed that the Parliament was established in 2015, with the aim of advocating for the protection of children’s rights, calling on the government to create awareness about the existence of the Family Court so that abused children could take full advantage of it.

She also decried the rate of child abuse and rape in the state, calling on the government to act against violence directed at children in the state.