The Ondo State government has emphasised its zero tolerance for the physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment of children.
Dr Seun Osamaye, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Akure.
Osamaye warned against child molestation, trafficking, street trading, and hawking, saying offenders would be prosecuted.
The commissioner said that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa was passionate about child protection rights.
She explained that the state government had put in place laws and policies against child abuse with the political will to prosecute anybody found culpable.
“Ondo State is being currently adjudged as one of the safest states for children, perhaps because of our anti-child labour policies or probably because of child safety laws and, anti-child labour laws.
“We have policies and programmes that have been domesticated, and being implemented towards child rights and protection of child rights.
“So, we have stakeholders that are drawn from different strata, sensitising them, working on policies and programmes that need to be initiated, even awareness campaign against child labour.
“From time to time, we have a committee that is also working on ensuring and enforcing that child rights are properly implemented.
“In fact, if there are, in rare cases, where we find anyone culpable of inflicting violence on any child, we take it very seriously and we deal with them,” she stated.
According to her, laws protecting the fundamental rights of every child must be taken seriously and implemented for a better society.
Regarding out-of-school children, the commissioner stated that the state government often organizes programs to educate parents and other key stakeholders on the importance of enrolling children in schools.
“In fact, if you look around, when you see children that are out of school here, they are mostly not even indigenous.
“So, our people are knowledgeable and they understand the fact that their children must be in schools, and they try as much as possible to send them to school.
“Thank God for the policies and programmes of Mr Governor, that also ensures that these children are provided with basic materials to assist them to stay in schools,” she said.
Osamaye, while commending the governor for his policies towards children and women, said that a series of empowerment initiatives had been implemented in the last six months.
The commissioner stated that the programmes, in collaboration with the Renewed Hope Initiatives (RHI) of First Lady Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, had positively impacted women by providing them with formidable sources of livelihood.
According to her, the empowerment programmes, which she described as non-partisan and not ethnic-based, are tailored towards the betterment of society.
She stated that the selection process for beneficiaries was conducted across the 18 local government areas to ensure the inclusion of vulnerable individuals throughout the state.
Osamaye noted that beneficiaries of the empowerment were being monitored and guided so that the purpose would be actualised.
“We monitor, we supervise, and we ask questions because we try to interview them as they come to pick the items, to know if what we’re giving them will be useful to them or not.
“We ensure that exactly what they take is something that can be useful because most times the reason they sell those items is that they are not useful.
“In the last six months in this administration, we’ve done a lot of empowerment for widows and vulnerable people, including the elderly and the leprosarium.
“The essence is for them to have a means of sustainability, economic means of taking care of themselves and taking care of their children,” she said.
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