Joyce Onwuka
The National Council for Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria (Naccran),is seeking unreserved apology from Nigeria’s consular in Mali, Mr Ugochukwu C. Chime for his recent defamatory statement against its officers.
The group said it would be left with no other option than to expose Mr. Ugochukwu if urgent action is not taken to call him to order and also report him in its next report to the United Nation (UN) in January,2025.
The Southwest Coordinator of NACCRAN,Mr. Samson Olapade Adefioye,who conveyed these in a statement on Thursday,also appealed to the bosses of National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Services(DSS ), not to allow their past struggles against child trafficking to be wasted by calling Chime, whose actions may puncture their efforts to order.
He acknowledged the exceptional services of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director General Ambassador Muhammed Muhammed, his counterpart at the Department of State Services (DSS), Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi for their efforts at combating child trafficking in the country.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for maintaining listening ears to the cries of Nigerians and exhibiting open door policy since his assumption of office.
According to the Southwest NACCRAN Coordinator, President Bola Hammed Tinubu, ever since he was the Governor of Lagos State, had been a leader with a Godly passion for the plight of the led.
He said there was no time as a Governor when President Tinubu would hear of any one suffering without him stepping in to solve the problem,let alone now that he is the President of the country.
Accordimg to him,President Tinubu deserves commendation for putting up a progressive team of Ministers who shares the same burden to move Nigeria forward and as a result project the country’s good image to the world, to work with him.
Speaking on his council’s activity at combating child trafficking to Mali as well as hindrances it has faced from the office of the Nigeria Minister/Consular in Mali, the Coordinator commended NAPTIP Director General and his staffs for their cooperation and support in the fight against child trafficking.
He praised the Minister Of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice, the Director General; Human Rights Commission, the Directors and staffs in the ministries for their support to the National Council of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria in their fight against child trafficking in West Africa.
Speaking on NACCRAN’s activities since inception,Mr Adefioye disclosed that, National Council of Child Rights Advocates Nigeria was created in 2005 during the tenure of President Olusegun by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in conjunction with United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) to ease the plight of children throughout the federation, to better their lives and consequently upgrading the lives of women and youths along the course.
He disclosed that NACCRAN was then grouped into 6 geo political zones, adding that the South West zone had been operating along with other zones hithertho,and have relentlessly, along with others promoted the rights of the child.
He noted that NACCRAN assiduous work was noticed by the United Nations (UN) in 2011,when it was meritoriously awarded the special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and had since been writing quarterly reports on its activities being one of its duties.