NAN-H-87
Orphans
By Husseyn Mbar
Bauchi, Feb. 22, 2017 (NAN) Hajiya Maryam Bagel, a lawmaker in the Bauchi State House of Assembly, has called on the assembly to repeal the law establishing the State Agency for Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
The lawmaker, an APC member representing Dass constituency, made the call on Wednesday in Bauchi while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Bagel, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs in the state, said she had to move for the closure of the agency when it was discovered that documents to prove that funds meant for the running of the orphanage were appropriately used could not be found.
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“I moved a bill calling on the honourable house to repeal the law that established the agency for orphans and vulnerable children.
“I felt, based on my studies and observations and findings, that the agency is duplicating the work of the federal ministry of women affairs who is saddle with the responsibility nationwide to work on the orphans and vulnerable.
“So I felt there is an existing agency that is doing that.
“The amount of fund that is being generated to run the agency for the welfare of the orphans and vulnerable children, I felt were not properly utilized by the agency.
“The source of the funding is directly from the salaries of the civil servants and the public servants, so if you look at the huge amount of resources that were been removed monthly for this from 2012 to today the work does not justify the amount that is being collected for it.
“And there is no proper documentations of the expenses and expenditures for the agency everything was scanty and if you look at the staffing, there were drawn from all the ministry of women affairs especially and others and they are still earning salaries from them.
“So because of that I felt that the agency should be closed down and the responsibilities should be taken back to the ministry.’’
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The lawmaker said investigation by a penal set up by the state government had shown that all the observations she made were correct. (NAN)
HAM/DOR/YEE
Edited by Nyisom Dore/Emmanuel Yashim
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