By: Bashir Hassan Abubakar
The Bauchi State Gobvernment is on the brink of adopting the Federal Government’s Alternative Child Care Policy, after stakeholders gave the green light to a freshly validated set of guidelines.
At the close of the review session on Friday, 12 September 2025, Ahmad Umar Muhammad, Director of Child Development at the Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development, said stakeholders combed through the document “page by page,” striking out anything that could stall smooth implementation.
He praised the Child Protection Network (CPN) and officials from key ministries and agencies for their “painstaking, no-nonsense scrutiny,” which he said will fast-track Bauchi’s child-protection agenda.
Kingsley Yalling of the CPN was equally upbeat, saying the policy—once domesticated—will deliver “all-round social protection” for children across the state.
Backing that view, Barrister Margaret Ikoh, also of the CPN, highlighted the guidelines’ tough stance on jailing children for petty offences. She said the policy clearly spells out government’s duty to provide alternative care that lets children “not just grow, but thrive.”
Other participants echoed the optimism, calling the domestication a game-changer for child welfare and development in Bauchi.
The validation meeting, facilitated by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development and the Bauchi CPN chapter with support from the network’s national office, now clears the path for the policy’s formal adoption.
