The Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Alhassan, on Wednesday appealed to the Plateau State Government to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act to help prohibit violence against children, women and even men in the state.
Alhassan made the appeal when she paid a courtesy call on Governor Simon Lalong, in Jos.
She said, “There is the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, which was enacted last year at the federal level. It is very important, because it covers the gaps that are in the Child Rights Act, in respect of children.
“It also covers violence against women and even against the men.
“So, it is very important for all of us to have the VAPP Act domesticated in Plateau State. Unless it is domesticated here, if somebody does something contrary to the law, we cannot prosecute him/her here, because this is not a federal territory”, she stressed.
On why she was in the said, she said, “I came to sensitize the women of Plateau State to key into the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme.
“One of the areas we identified as the problem of women, especially those at the grassroots is the problem of access to finance.
“Our grassroots women are mostly petty traders/entrepreneurs, farmers among others; but their main problem is lack of access to finance, because they are handicapped and cannot access finances from the regular banks.
“Hence, the need for the Empowerment Programme, which will give the women micro loans between N10, 0000 to N100, 0000, to help them come out of poverty and the loans are interest free; no collateral is required,” she explained.
Responding, Governor Simon Lalong, who was represented by his Deputy, Prof. Sonni Tyoden, assured the minister that the state government would ensure that the VAPP Act was domesticated in the State.
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