A 13-year old Akwa Ibom girl, Progress Friday Umoh has emerged Speaker of the 7th National Children’s Parliament. She emerged after a keenly contested election on Monday, December 12, in Abuja.
Inaugurating the parliament a day later, the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen described the children’s Parliament as a “platform for promoting child rights”, adding that it facilitates their participation in all matters affecting them, in accordance with the Child Rights Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Urging state governments that have not yet conducted Children’s Parliament elections to do so, the minister noted that the elections would help in promoting the rights and protection of children against violence and harmful practices.
The Director, Advocacy and Campaign, Save the Children International, Nigeria, a Civil Society Organisation that collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to organize the election, Amanuel Mamo called on government to increase their investment in children’s rights and prioritise implementation of child-sensitive policies and strategies nationwide.
According to him, “Children are experiencing several challenges, sexual abuse, molestation, violence, rape and other challenges in the country”.
He therefore urged the National Children’s Parliament to be a part of discussions regarding the Nigeria the next generation would want to see in a decade or two and beyond, as the country’s future depends on how the government invests in children today.
In the same vein, UNICEF’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, represented by Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF, Godwin Chinedu-Odo, appealed to the newly-inaugurated parliament to review the of the seven-point agenda of commitment made by the Nigerian government to Nigerian children and demand “prompt implementation”.
Delivering her inaugural speech, the new Speaker of the 7th National Children’s Parliament, said a lot still needed to be done to ensure the survival, security and equality of the Nigerian child.
“We must ensure that Female Genital Mutilation, Child Trafficking and labour, sexual exploitation and harassment of children and other harmful practices that impact the lives of the Nigerian children become an issue of the past”.
“We must go beyond just domestication, but ensure each and every state begins to implement the Child Rights Law,” she insisted, adding that “Our administration will create a platform that, with the support of key stakeholders, allow children to express their concerns about their development, survival and participation.” She added.
Progress hails from Etinan local government area, and is an SS2 student of King Solomon International School, Uyo.
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