The Speaker of the Gombe State Children’s Parliament, Umar Farouk Abdullahi, has appealed to the government to end early child marriage and all other forms of child abuse in the state.
Abdullahi, who made the appeal during a press conference organised by the Save the Children International to commemorate the 2020 World Children’s Day, also asked the government to end other practices that infringe on the rights of children.
He called for more support from government and relevant stake holders to ensure that the rights of children in the state were protected.
The speaker tasked children in the state to adhere to all government and health authorities’ directives so as to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
According to him, the fight against the coronavirus needed the cooperation of everyone, including children, to ensure that no one was left behind.
He maintained that everyone is vulnerable to the virus, hence the need for collective efforts to protect the state and country at large.
Abdullahi added that it was the right of every child to get educated to enable him or her to fulfill his or her dreams, and contribute to the development of the state and country.
He further called for more support for girl-child education in the state to ensure that children, irrespective of their gender, were given the foundation to attain greatness in life.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Naomi Awak, said the state government was committed to the issues of child-education in the state.
Earlier, the Community Engagement and Advocacy Coordinator of the Save the Children International, Mr Akpan Effiong, said the girl-child needed all the supports to develop her potential in life.
He called on government to make education compulsory and free for the girl-child, as “such would go a long way in helping to address some of the challenges militating against girl-child education.”
