Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has warned all child-centered institutions both public and private, that the state would no longer tolerate negligence in ensuring the safety and protection of children under their care.
The governor who made this known in a statement made available by the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeemon Thursday also announced ratification of the first ever Executive Order establishing a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy in the country.
The statement reads: “Failure to adhere to the content of the policy would warrant significant repercussions varying from withdrawal of licenses to filing of criminal charges due to negligence.” According to him, the policy was designed as a catalyst for driving awareness and commitment of all stakeholders, including every member of the community towards the protection of children.
policy also articulates procedures to be adopted when disclosures of abuse were made while maintaining that the order applied to all state government organisations, all public and private schools, child centred institutions, and orphanages located in the state. “The Executive Order now makes it mandatory for Child Protection policy to be integrated into the induction programme of newly recruited staff into child-centred institutions. As regards employment of staff, it is now mandatory for all child-centred institutions to conduct detailed background checks. “Ultimately, the ratification of this Executive Order would reduce and possibly eliminate incidences of child abuse, establish a culture of early identification of trends and effective intervention to limit the occurrence of cases,” he said.
The governor, however, assured that the state government would in the next coming months strongly drive adoption of the policy to ensure that all child centred institutions adopted and adhered strictly to the provisions of the Order.
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