2027: Ebonyi PDP Candidate Pledges to End Child Hawking, House-Help Culture
The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ebonyi State, Ifeanyi Odii, has pledged to introduce measures aimed at curbing child hawking, domestic servitude and other forms of child labour if elected governor in 2027. Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Odii attributed the practice largely to poverty and unemployment, saying some families are forced by economic hardship to send their children into street trading or domestic work. He said his administration would establish skills development centres across the state to provide young people with practical training that could improve their chances of securing employment or starting businesses. The proposed centres would offer vocational programmes in areas including carpentry, POP installation, tailoring, animal husbandry and fish farming. According to Odii, the initiative would cover all 13 local government areas, with each centre expected to accommodate about 3,000 people, creating training opportunities for roughly 39,000 residents. He also promised to prioritise education through scholarship programmes and improvements to school facilities, with the aim of helping more children stay in school instead of entering the workforce prematurely.
The governorship candidate said tackling child labour would require addressing the economic difficulties faced by families. He proposed combining vocational training with greater investment in agriculture, healthcare and employment creation to expand income opportunities within local communities. Odii said Ebonyi’s agricultural and mineral resources could be better developed to support economic growth, create jobs and improve household earnings. He maintained that providing families with sustainable economic opportunities would reduce the pressure that often leads to children being sent away for domestic work or pushed into street trading. Odii said his proposed administration would therefore focus on strengthening the state’s productive capacity while expanding access to education and skills acquisition. He reiterated his commitment to measures designed to eliminate child hawking and what he referred to as the house-help culture in Ebonyi. His comments come amid child-protection concerns in the state, following the reported repatriation in July of 28 children allegedly trafficked for child labour from Anambra, with plans for their rehabilitation, skills training and return to school.
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