The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has called for stiffer penalties for persons convicted of rape, defilement and other forms of child abuse to serve as a deterrent to others.

He also urged the people of the state to stop giving alms to child beggars to discourage the rising trend of child beggars in the state.

Oshiomhole, who spoke when he received members of the state chapter of International Federation of Women Lawyers who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, decried the rising cases of the menace in the state and the country which he described as “heinous crimes” that must be prosecuted diligently.

He said, “We have discussed this, time and again at our Executive Council meetings. And at a point, we asked the Attorney-General to review the laws such that the number of years a convict gets will commensurate with the severe nature of rape and defilement.

“We are concerned; we have discussed this and we have a feeling that the number of reported cases are on the increase. We also know that, because of the nature of our environment, there will be several others that may not even be reported at all.

“When you look at the sheer number of rape cases that are recorded, it is clear that across the country both rape and defilement cases are increasing. Therefore, this calls for tougher measures on the part of those strengthening the law and providing for stiffer and harsher punishments than what is currently obtained and to also ensure that the few cases that are reported are properly prosecuted with a view to securing conviction.”

The governor, however, noted that the state had recorded a high level of success in the fight against kidnapping and reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that kidnappers were completely put out of business in the state.

He also said that the state government was taking steps to discourage street begging.

“I have directed the Commissioner for Women Affair to take firm measures to bring this incidence to an end; Edo cannot be a haven for beggars. We recognise the economic challenges but begging is not and will not be the solution and exposing children to begging is unhealthy.

“I will even appeal to Edo people not to give alms to child beggars because it doesn’t help as women and their fathers push these children to the street. They use them in the manner they do, hoping they will attract pity. The more pity we show to those kids, the more they are subjected to these dehumanising practices,” Oshiomhole added.

Earlier, the Chairperson of FIDA, Mrs. Stella Ojemen, said the organisation would continue to speak and protect women and children who suffer humiliation due the the violence meted out to them by the perpetrators.

Ojemen said, “Our duties are simple – to ensure that women and children who are confronted with all kinds of issues are protected. We are disturbed by the incidence of child labour and trafficking of women in the state and with the plight of widows who are being disturbed by the families of the husband.

“We are also worried about the maltreatment of women and children in crisis zones and we are really disturbed by all of these issues.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/oshiomhole-seeks-stiffer-penalties-for-rapists/

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NICE ONE

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The Presidency on Wednesday took on the Peoples Democratic Party and those it called the party’s agents over their position on the relief released to state governments by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, accused the PDP of creating unnecessary controversy over “the well-intentioned effort” of the President.

He described as “banal and ludicrous” the claim by the party’s spokesman, Olisa Metuh, that the past government should be given credit for saving the money that was disbursed.

The statement read in part, “Mr. Metuh’s claim that a significant amount of the funds came from savings accumulated in the Excess Crude Account and handed over to the Buhari administration is completely false and deliberately intended to mislead the public.

“As we clearly stated yesterday (on Tuesday), the funds approved by President Buhari for sharing to the three tiers of government on Monday came entirely from dividends and taxes paid to the Federation Account by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company, not from the Excess Crude Account.

“The disbursed NLNG dividends and taxes were paid into the Federation Account in June this year and confirmed by the Central Bank’s statement to the Federal Government on July 7, 2015.

“The funds cannot, therefore, be considered ‘savings’ by the Jonathan administration which left office in May, 2015, as disingenuously claimed by Mr. Metuh.

“Instead of being repeatedly impugned and castigated by the PDP and its agents for honestly telling Nigerians that the nation’s treasury has been immensely depleted and its resources looted or squandered under previous administrations, President Buhari should be commended for the openness, transparency and accountability which he has now brought to the management of national funds.

“It was in keeping with that disposition that the President promptly disclosed the accrual of the NLNG dividends and taxes to the Federation Account at his recent meeting with state governors and approved the convening of a special session of the FAAC to share it.

“As a state governor, who was present at the meeting, remarked, under the past administrations, the states never had the benefit of such disclosures.

“Mr. Metuh and others, who now ungratefully see Monday’s disbursement of the NLNG proceeds as their “legitimate” earnings and not a “bailout” from the Federal Government, may wish to tell Nigerians if such earnings were ever disclosed by the PDP Federal Government and paid to the states in the past.

“The public may also wish to note that the Buhari administration itself has never referred to the actions which it was taken to ease the current financial difficulties of states as a “bailout.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/presidency-faults-pdp-on-n713-7bn-bailout-for-states/

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