The Deputy Speaker, Borno State House of Assembly, BOSHA, Rt Hon Abdullahi Askira, on Thursday flagged off the distribution of clothing materials to about 218 children mostly orphaned by Boko Haram crisis in Askira/Uba Local Government Area.
The gesture which is an annual event is to enable vulnerable groups, especially orphaned children wear a new look during festivities, especially the Eid-el-Fitr Sallah celebration slated to take place between Sunday and Monday next week.
This is even as Hon. Askira has applauded Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum for signing into law, the Child Rights Act after it was presented to him by the leadership of BOSHA early this year.
The Lawmaker said, apart from giving priority to vulnerable groups, he has been assisting his constituency by attracting more people-oriented projects such as the construction of classroom blocks, health care centres, provision of agricultural inputs and poverty alleviation materials to people of the constituency.
Flagging off the distribution of the clothing materials and other Sallah gifts to orphans in Askira/Uba, the Lawmaker said, he has sponsored quite a number of orphaned children to pursue their education in various institutions of learning, and therefore called on meaningful and well-to-do individuals to assist vulnerable ones in the society.
“I always drive enjoyment when sponsoring students, particularly orphans to study in different schools, distributing free uniforms/ clothing to them and books of different subjects, shoes, school bags among other things,” he said.
The lawmaker assured his Constituents of his commitment to sustain the gesture and called on them to pray for everlasting peace in the state and the country as a whole.
“You are my children, and everything that happens to you happens to me also. I want to reassure you that in your plight, we are together,” he told the orphans.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker congratulated children in Borno State and thanked Governor Zulum, who has since signed the Borno State Child Protection Bill into law.
He said the development is a victory for the children of Borno, including recognition of a legal framework for their protection against recruitment and use by armed groups, child labour and sexual abuse, among other violations of their rights.