Over 20 Abuja orphanages operate without licence

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said over 20 orphanage homes in the territory are operating without proper registration. FCTA said it would revalidate all orphanages in Abuja, especially those that were not registered. The Permanent Secretary of FCTA, Chinyeaka Ohaa, in a keynote address, at a one-day Stakeholders Conference on Orphanages Operation, said […]

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said over 20 orphanage homes in the territory are operating without proper registration.

FCTA said it would revalidate all orphanages in Abuja, especially those that were not registered.

The Permanent Secretary of FCTA, Chinyeaka Ohaa, in a keynote address, at a one-day Stakeholders Conference on Orphanages Operation, said the administration was committed to children’s protection from physical, emotional and mental abuses.

Ohaa said, “We believe  that all children should have equitable access to and benefit from comprehensive social protection services, are safe and protected from romantic abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect.

“They are also to unequivocally have access to quality basic education, adequate standard of living, remain  healthy  and well nourished, have legal identity and the right to participate fully in all issues that concern them.”

He warned that no group, organisation or individual should take lightly the establishment and management of orphanages in the FCT.

He noted that there was no going back in the full implementation of the Child Rights Act of 2003 in the FCT and that this made it imperative to educate stakeholders as to extant rules regulating the establishment and management of orphanages in the FCT.

The acting Secretary of Social  Development of FCTA, Hajia Safiya Umar,  regretted that most  orphanages had been personalised, saying most homes did not put into consideration what the Child Rights Act stated about establishment of orphanages.

She said most homes were over-populated as against the standard five children to a room and a nanny, and that the home must be close to a school and health facilities.

The President of Coalition Of Orphanages and Children’s Homes in Nigeria (COCHIN), Sen. Eze Ajoku, said managing an orphanage was a calling and must be done by those who had the heart to give and help the vulnerable.