Sunday 20 October 2013

Group condemns Ilorin Sallah stampede

An NGO, the Civil Society Legislative
Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has condemned the
Sallah stampede in Ilorin which left more than
20 people dead and called for a strong policy to
protect women’s rights. CISLAC made its position public in a release
signed by its Executive Director, Ibrahim Musa,
and made available in Ilorin. It will be recalled that more than 20 women
died during a stampede in Ilorin on Wednesday
during the struggle for gifts presented by Sen.
Bukola Saraki, a former governor of the state. Musa advised the state government to put in a
place a policy that would enable women and
youths to access credit facilities and reduce
poverty that had often forced them into taking
unnecessary risks . “CISLAC recommends that both Kwara State
Assembly and the executive immediately
increase resources that would benefit women
and other vulnerable groups in the state,” Musa
said. He said women and other vulnerable groups in
the state had been marginalised over the years
with regards to developmental projects. Musa said the extreme poverty level in the
state had deprived women and youths of their
constitutional rights. The fight against poverty in the state, he said,
would not succeed if immediate attention was
not given to women and youth empowerment. He added that vulnerable groups in the state
had suffered from long years of successive
weak governance, rising poverty, ignorance,
discrimination, injustice and insecurity. Musa urged the state government to put in
place an institutional framework to promote
environmental sustainability and poverty
alleviation, particularly among women. He further charged government to increase
funding and investment in small-scale
agricultural development projects to promote
food security in the state. (NAN)

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