Africa Press-Nigeria:
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Tuesday urged State Houses of Assembly Speakers to ensure that all states in the country domesticate the Child Rights Act and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.
This development followed a commitment made by the Speaker two weeks ago when he met with some civil society organisations over the rising cases of sexual and gender-based violence across the country.
DAILY POST learnt that the meeting was conducted via zoom and moderated by the Chairman of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Rep. Adewunmi Onanuga, with the Speakers of Bauchi, Ekiti, Delta, Edo and Plateau states, among others, in attendance.
In his remarks, Gbajabiamila said the meeting was convened to address the problem of sexual and gender-based violence.
In his words, “We called this meeting to see what we can do. It is to also find out from states that have not domesticated these Acts, to know what exactly the problems are; what are the issues?
“How exactly can we collaborate from the federal level, from the House of Representatives, the National Assembly, in helping to domesticate these two laws, taking into consideration the different cultures and communities?
“We had a robust debate in the House of Representatives. We had very far-reaching resolutions that will address some of these issues. The bottom line is we need to do something fast.”
But the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Rep. Abubakar Suleiman, who is also the chairman of the North-East States’ Speakers, said the VAPP Act is currently at public hearing stage in the state.
