By Suleiman Yakubu

High level of poverty and poor parental upbringing have been described as contributing factors to child abuse in society.
The Acting Director, Niger State Child Rights Agency, Sulaiman Shehu Lapai, while speaking with our reporter as part of the activities to mark this year's Children's Day, explained that most cases of child abuse started in homes.
He said some parents withdraw their children from school for street begging and hawking.
"As parents, we must go back to the drawing board in the aspect of child upbringing because if you are privileged to go around Minna, you will see children roaming about in the street begging and hawking, and if you ask the parents, they will say there is no money to send the children to school.
"If your children cannot go to school or stay at home to learn moral lessons from their parents and the society where they belong, how would they have feelings for humanity and the society where they live? If you cannot take care of a child, don't bring him or her into the world.
"Some parents don't even know where their children are, talk more of checking on their activities, and that is why the agency is doing its best to function in spite of the challenges we are facing, to see the cases of child abuse being reduced significantly," he added.
The director further stated that the agency has been operating for four years without budget allocation, adding that even after they eventually got budget heads, there was no approval or cash backing from the past government.
Sulaiman Shehu appealed to the state government to make education affordable for the citizens so that the rate of child abuse will be reduced and also to make it mandatory for every child to go to school and that society should report any child that is out of school.
He said whenever there was any case of child abuse reported at their office, the identity of the victims was kept secret so that it would not affect the mental health of the child because when the child is known, they usually feel isolated from society. At times, even after the child is rehabilitated, society still has that negative impression.
On funding, he lamented that from the inception, for an agency that works 24 hours a day, "the government is supposed to give priority and meet all that the agency requires to function effectively, but even folders, we have to buy from the charges made from the cases.
"Our survival is based on salary and overhead, and even the overhead cannot do much; even the meagre overhead started to come when this present administration assumed office a year ago," he said.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Niger State Governor, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago, has reiterated his commitment to clean and renewable energy through a green economy.
The governor affirmed this when he presented a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to NNPC Retail Ltd. for the establishment of 50 microfilling plants and CNG truck parks across the state.
He made the presentation at his official residence, Government House Minna, describing the event as historic, adding that the provision of filling plants by NNPC and the transition from fossil fuels to the use of clean and affordable energy were welcomed developments.
He said the collaboration will further address the cases of tree felling in the state, which would also assist in stopping deforestation.
On the proposed establishment of truck parks in the state by the NNPC, Governor Bago called for synergy between the NNPC and the Niger State Government so that the activities would be streamlined for effective service delivery and to avoid duplication of projects as the state has plans to invest in trailer parks.
The Senior Officer, LPG Micro Distribution, NNPC Ltd., Alh. Muhammad Baba, said during his presentation that the LPG Micro Filling Plant, which was the first of its kind in Nigeria, was part of the federal government's agenda for Nigerians to access affordable gas, especially in remote areas.
He disclosed that Niger State was among the states to benefit from the 50 units of filling plants out of the 3000 slated to be established nationwide and that the NNPC would ensure liquified petroleum gas remains a clean cooking alternative.
Alh. Baba said the project was a prototype, and the state government was expected to invest in it and empower people by providing NNPC with assigned dealers for gas supply.
The Manager, External Relations and Communications, Aisha Birma, as well as the senior retail engineer, Yunusa Ismail, were part of the entourage of the NNPC.