Senate President, Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki has pledged that the 8th Senate will harmonise
all child adoption laws in the country to make it easier for Nigerians
wishing to adopt children do so without
hindrance.
Saraki spoke when the
South East Professional Women Association of Nigeria and the Diaspora
(SEPWAND), visited him at the National Assembly in Abuja.
He also said that the
objective of harmonization of the laws on child adoption is to help
reduce the rampant cases of girl-child sex slavery in certain parts of
the country.
The Senate President,
according to a statement by his Special Assistant on Print Media, Chuks
Okocha, in Abuja, said, "though there are different adoption laws from
the various states of the federation,
but the 8th Senate will ensure that these adoption laws are harmonised
to make child adoption easier for couples that plan to adopt any child.
"The harmonisation
of these adoption laws will go a long way to halt the increasing and
rampant cases of girl-child sex slavery that makes some girls to get
pregnant and later sell the children.
"The Senate will
debate these laws from the states, harmonise them and make it less
stringent as they are and make adoption laws easier for couples that
plan to adopt any child instead of patronising illegal
child adoption centres," he stated.
Saraki also said that
the Senate would ensure that through the amendment of relevant laws
that "we create opportunities for our young ones. The Senate has
started this with the buy Made in Nigeria campaigns
so as to create opportunities for our younger ones by creating
employment opportunities.
"We shall ensure that
through these amended laws that vulnerable young girls can access
credit to set up businesses and in the process put operators if baby
factories out of business," Saraki said.
According to the
President of the group, Mrs. Nwankanya Ibe, "the South-East has been
ridiculed by illegal Adoption Centres (aka Baby Factory). We, the
Professional women from this region have monitored
this with keen interest and this formed the basis for forming this
organisation".
She noted that the SEPWAND
is a non-governmental organization whose key objectives are to
eradicate the girl-child abuse, sex slavery and all forms of
violence against women and to empower the girl-child through
scholarship awards, livelihood skill developments and to empower women
in agriculture.
"We
hope by this visit to raise awareness for the need of the Senate to
look into the adoption laws whereby it is made easier for couples who
genuinely wish
to adopt children to do so without unnecessary bottlenecks. This will help to reduce the business of illegal adoption centres that have encouraged
the vulnerable girl-child into sex slavery.
"In
line with SEPWAND objectives, a number of programs have been mapped
out. Among which are identification and award of scholarship to
vulnerable girl-child,
livelihood skill development and empowerment, as such we intend to have
a skill development centre at our headquarters in Enugu for the pilot
stage and eventually in all State capitals in the South East.
"Another program that
we are compassionate about is the sensitization of women and empowering
them in agriculture by providing them with high yield seedlings and
seed capital", Mrs. Ibe told the Senate
President.
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