By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF , has commended the Kebbi State Government as Governor Senator Abubakar Bagudu signed into Law the State Child Rights Bill, CRA.
Bagudu signed the CRA at the weekly Executive Council meeting at the Council Chambers of Government House, Birnin Kebbi, recently.
This makes Kebbi State the 31st State to adopt the CRA (2015) since it was passed into law by the National Assembly in 2003.
UNICEF while commending this gesture urged the State Government to allocate and release adequate resources and full implementation of the law to ensure children have the right enshrined in it. .
UNICEF Representative in , Peter Hawkins said, “We congratulate the government and people of Kebbi State on this momentous achievement. By providing legislation that protects the rights of its children, Kebbi State has taken the right decision to provide its children the enabling environment to thrive and reach their full potential. ”
In 2003, Nigeria’s National Assembly enacted the Child Rights Act (CRA), which derives from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which Nigeria is a signatory; and all of Nigeria’s 36 States are expected to domesticate the law. Not all States in Nigeria have domesticated the law, however.
By signing the Child Rights bill into law, Kebbi State has joined the group of states which have a legislative framework through the domestication of the Nigeria Child Rights Act.
Thirty-one (31) States have so far enacted the state equivalents of the Child Rights Act. Five States are yet to domesticate the law: Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano and Zamfara.
To contribute to the fulfilment of children’s rights in Nigeria, UNICEF, in collaboration with partners, has been supporting government at the State and Federal levels to put in place laws and policies which address child rights issues, and the Kebbi State Child Protection Law is one of the results of such efforts.
