2017 Children’s Day: Gov Ambode Vows to Keep All Children Safe from Abuse & Rescue Kidnapped School Pupils Unhurt
To mark the 2017 children’s day on Saturday, Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode said his administration is committed to protecting children in the state from any form of abuse, child labour or molestation by religiously implementing the Child Right Law and the Executive Order on Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.
He added that it is important to protect our children today, so that they can protect us tomorrow.
Ambode, who was represented by his deputy, Idiat Adebule, said this in Lagos at the Children’s Day Celebration organised by the Ministry of Education as part of activities to mark the Lagos at 50 anniversary, The Guardian reports.
The theme of the Children’s Day celebration was ”Children of Today, Our Keepers Tomorrow.”
”As we celebrate this year’s children’s Day and the 50th anniversary of our state, I want you to believe that you too can achieve greatness. You must believe in yourself and in your dreams.
We must protect these children today so that they can protect us tomorrow. It is a double celebration for us all in the state.
I was a child like you 50 years ago and some of us occupying leadership positions today got here because of the opportunities given to us by this great state.
As a government, we will continue to invest massively on education because quality education remains the best legacy that we can bequeath to the younger ones. What we are doing today is to lay a solid foundation for you to build on just as our founding fathers did 50 years ago.
Very soon, it will be your responsibility to take Lagos State to the level that we all desire in the next 50 years.
As a government, we recognize our responsibility to create opportunities for you to become the best you can be without any barrier, this is why in the last two years, we have invested massively in the infrastructural and manpower development in our public schools. Our plan which is being realized is to restore public confidence in our public schools,” he said.
In addition, Ambode urged children to be change agents and affect their communities by impacting positively on the development and growth of the society.
Also in his remark, he reassured Lagosians that the State Government would do everything possible to ensure that six pupils of the Government Model College, Igbonla in Epe who were kidnapped in the early hours of Thursday are rescued unhurt and reunited with their parents, noting that the celebration would not be complete without rescuing those innocent pupils safely and bring them back to school to continue their education.
He also stated that top security arrangement was on course to guarantee their safety, pledging that his government would stop at nothing to ensure that kidnapping and other criminal activities are put to an end in schools, according to The Nation.
Photo credit: The Nation
Happy children’s day to all the children around the world.
They are our responsibility