By Vincent Ujumadu
AWKA—Outgoing Chief of UNICEF, A field office, with headquarters in Enugu, Mrs. Pelucy Ntambirweki, has commended South East states for their commitment to implement programmes aimed at improving the welfare of children in the area through passage of the Child Rights Bill.

Ntambirweki, who spoke with reporters in Awka after a courtesy call on Governor Peter Obi, observed that only two states in the zone have not passed the bill, thus indicating that the zone had the highest number of states that had passed the Bill by their Houses of Assembly.

According to her, the passage of the Bill showed the commitment of the states to cooperate with UNICEF in the implementation of its programmes which, primarily is to ensure that most vulnerable children were reached to enable Nigeria achieve the Millennium Development Goals, MDG, by 2015.

She said most of the governors in the zone were accessible to UNICEF for the three years she worked with them which, adding that made her job easy.

“We were lucky that these governors ensured that the Child Rights Act was passed by their legislative houses which were the highest among the UNICEF field offices in the country.

“Apart from making the work of UNICEF easy, it enabled the governors to take the issue of children serious,” she said.

Ntabirweki, who had been posted to Southern Sudan, said she learnt a lot in Nigeria, especially in the area of governance which is geared towards the well-being of children and other members of society.

Singling out Anambra as a state that pursued the activities of UNICEF with passion, she told Obi: “Your state has been very proactive in providing the enabling environment for the fulfillment of the rights of children in law, policies and resource allocation.

“Your state is a solid reference in the allocation and disbursement of government contributions to development cooperation and projects.

“Your government was marked by commitment and seriousness as evidenced by the quality of representation and participation in various fora where all the states come together to deliberate on children and their situation.”

In his speech, Governor Obi noted that it was the encouragement given to the state by UNICEF that gingered it to devote enormous resources towards the improvement of the welfare of children in the state.

Obi observed that no amount of resources spent to improve the well-being of children was too much, as they are the future of the country.

He expressed the commitment of his administration to meeting the goals of MDG by 2014 when his second tenure would end.