Governor Martins Elechi: outgoing governor

The event scheduled for the Abakaliki Township Stadium, witnessed a low turn out as it was boycotted by public schools because of the on-going strike by teachers in government schools.

The celebration has the theme ‘Violence against Children: Addressing the Challenges’.

In her address, Mrs Mary-Joy Umoke, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development in the state, called for efforts to protect the children against all forms of violence.

Umoke described child upbringing as a collective responsibility and urged all and sundry to rise up and condemn all forms of violence against children.

She said that ethnic crisis, cultism, wars, kidnapping and child labour among others constituted forms of violence against the children.

She said that global records indicated that violence resulted in the death of 1.28 million people in 2013 against global record of 1.13 million in 1990.

The event featured march-past by pupils and students, cultural dances and calisthenics, among others.