By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on the National Assembly as well as state legislatures to strengthen all child rights and protection legislations and ensure effective implementation of the same in the interest of the children.
The PDP said this in a statement issued to felicitate with the Nigerian children on the occasion of the celebration of children’s day globally.
The party, in the statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, equally called on well-meaning and public-spirited Nigerians to use the day to reach out and intervene in the myriads of challenges facing the Nigerian children.
The PDP urged Nigerians to remain undeterred but continue to rally for the children and remain steadfast in the collective effort to rescue our nation from the misrule of the APC
The statement by the main opposition party reads, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) greets the Nigerian Children as they join other children across the world to celebrate this year’s International Children’s Day.
“The party however laments that in Nigeria, this day of celebration has become a sad epitaph of the harsh conditions which the Nigerian children have been subjected to in the last six years under President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The PDP bemoans that under the APC, the Nigerian children have suffered the worst form of neglect, denied the basic necessities of life, with millions of them rendered homeless and orphaned, without access to education, healthcare and appropriate elements of a happy and productive childhood.
“Under President Buhari and the APC, about 10.1 million Nigerian children are reportedly out of school, the highest in sub-Sahara region.
“This is in addition to over 19 million children languishing in Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps in various parts of our country, with many more killed or orphaned by terrorists under APC’s watch.
“Under President Buhari, violence against children, child trafficking and other acts that infringe on the rights of the child have escalated to a frightening proportion.
“Moreover, the Buhari-led APC administration have continued to mortgage the future of the Nigerian children with its humongous corruption and reckless foreign borrowings, which is putting a huge yoke on the feeble shoulders of our innocent children.
“Our party urges President Buhari to end his administration’s insensitivity to the children by deploying special incentives to boost access to education, healthcare as well as guarantee the security and safety of children especially in crisis areas.
“President Buhari must take steps to end the insecurity in the country so that the children in IDP camps and crisis ridden areas can return to their normal lives.
