Politics
THE House of Representatives has passed for second reading, a Bill for an act to criminalise child abandonment in the country.
Rep. Sergius Ogun (PDP-Delta) who sponsored the Bill while leading the debate on the floor of the House on Tuesday said the bill is to impose sanction on any parents that abandoned a new born baby.
The Bill is titled ” A Bill for an Act to Amend the Child Rights Act, Cap. C50, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, seeks
to impose sanction on any parent who abandons a new born child and absconds after birth.
Ogun explained that the Bill is proposing a punishment of a fine of N200,000 or imprisonment for six months or both.
“This Bill therefore seeks to specifically make provision within the child right Act against the practice of child abandonment by parents, by introducing a new subsection 3 into the extant section 14 of the act. “
Contributing to the debate, a member from Delta State, Rep Nicholas Ossai (Delta-PDP) said though it is the duty of parents to cater for a child, the government also has a duty to complement the duty of parents.
“Imagine a father who has brought out a child into the world and has no work for the past eight years.It is the duty of that government to help that father and the child. “
The Bill was therefore referred to the Committee on Women Affairs.(NAN)
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Tags: House of Representatives Sergius Ogun
