The South East Professional Women Association of Nigeria and Diaspora (SEPWAND) on Thursday sought the support of the National leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to implore state governors, particularly on the Party’s platform to relax child adoption laws and procedures to allow genuine couples to adopt easily.
SEPWAND National President, Mrs. Nwanganga Ibeh made the request when she led a seven-member delegation of the women’s group on a courtesy visit on the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun at the Party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
Ibeh who was speaking against the backdrop of the proliferation of illegal adoption centres in the South East, submitted that if child adoption laws and procedures are made a bit flexible, genuine couples can adopt easily and in turn drastically reduce the operation of illegal adoption centres in the country.
She informed the APC National Chairman that the group had recently met the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki on a similar lobby mission.
“We have watched how the South East has been ridiculed by illegal adoption centres that recruit vulnerable girl-child to give birth to babies for sale to the highest bidder. We are working to find ways and means to bring the menace to an end. We were at the Senate recently to see the Senate President. We appealed that legislation concerning adoption should be looked into so that the National Assembly can make it simpler for genuine couples to adopt easily. We believe if this law is made a bit flexible, genuine couples can adopt and drastically reduce the operation of illegal adoption centres. We appeal to you Mr. Chairman to use your good office to talk to APC governors to look into the adoption laws in their respective states to make adoption easier and reduce activities of the illegal adoption centres.” SEPWAND National President stated.
The APC National Chairman assured of the Party’s support for the group objectives. He hailed the group’s effort to ameliorate the sufferings of affected persons and curb the menace of illegal adoption centres which he linked to the economic situation in the country.
Odigie-Oyegun said: “There is no question at all that it’s been for some time now a matter of considerable regret the way as a country, we have featured internationally, not just in the trans-Mediterranean human trafficking but also illegal adoption centres amongst other social ills.
“There is no reason why the country cannot run a proper adoption procedure such that those who genuinely need to adopt children be facilitated to legally do so. So that such adopted children can even be monitored to curb abuses.
“We know these practices have been made worse by our unusual economic circumstance resulting from almost two decades of running the economy aground. We as a Party have now been saddled with the responsibility of patching up a very horrible situation that we did not create. The President Muhammadu Buhari administration is going all out to fix the economic base of the nation.
“Happily, there is now tremendous investment on infrastructure, agriculture and other sectors of the economy such that in another few years, we will begin to be permanently on the path of growth. Which means the economy will be expanded and there will be opportunity for employment at all levels, particularly at small and medium scale industry level.”
