Date Published: 06/01/11

Akpabio warns parents against child abandonment

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio, has warned parents and guardians to stop abandoning their children and wards on the pretext that the children were witches.

Akpabio gave the warning recently in Uyo while speaking at an event to mark the 2011 Children’s Day celebrations.

The theme of the celebrations was: “Good governance: Impact on the Nigerian child”.

The governor vowed to implement the Child Rights Law in all its ramifications for adequate protection of vulnerable children.

“We did not only introduce the free and compulsory education but have passed the Child Rights Bill to protect our children against inhuman practices.

“Success without a successor is a failure, the children of Akwa Ibom State remain successors to this great administration,” Akpabio said.

He noted that every Akwa Ibom child was entitled to basic amenities of life and right to dignity under the law.

Akpabio assured children that his administration was committed to good policies and programmes that would guarantee them a bright future.

“As a state named after God, we must all live up to God’s expectation and eschew disunity and rumour mongering,” he advised.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Eunice Thomas, thanked the governor for the introduction of the Child Rights Law, adding that it would go a long way in curbing child abandonment.

Thomas also expressed gratitude to the governor for supporting the rescue of the children stigmatised as witches by their parents.