Nigeria’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu has flagged off the construction of 40 units of modern toilets for Alheri Leprosy Colony in Yangoji, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Rasheed Olanrewaju Zubair (ANIPR), Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Honourable Minister (MHAPA) in a press release on Friday stated that the flag-off was in fulfilment of the promise made to the community in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Speaking at the event, the minister said President Tinubu had special interest in making persons living with disabilities and was committed to ensuring that they played critical roles in society.
Edu who was represented by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Rasheed Olanrewaju, described the President as a man ready to sacrifice all for the well-being of the disabilities community, stating that the President did not in any way see them as persons with disabilities but “persons with special abilities”.
She stressed that the days of total neglect of the disabled community in Nigeria were gone for good.
The minister reiterated President Tinubu’s resolve to make persons with disabilities part of society.
Dr. Edu assured the PWD community that the ministry had approved 10 percent of all social intervention programmes for persons with disabilities as beneficiaries, saying with this, it was obvious the PLWDs were part of the society and should not suffer discrimination of any kind.
“Your positive journey has just begun today, you are bonafide citizens of the country, do not allow anyone to dampen your spirit, be assured that you are part of us, and you won’t be discriminated against, the president is concerned about you, I’m passionate about your well-being”, the minister said.
According to Dr Edu, she was eager to see the project completed and commissioned in record time.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Dr. James David Lalu, assured that the project would be completed in two months and asked the contractor to put all machinery in place to ensure the project was completed on time.
He thanked President Tinubu for fulfilling the promise he made to Alheri Leprosy Colony during the electioneering campaign, saying the Alheri community and persons with disabilities contributed to his emergence.
The executive secretary said with the help of Dr . Edu as minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, he was sure that the Alheri Leprosy Colony and other people with special needs would no longer be neglected, describing the minister as one who showed much regard to those with disabilities and ready to resuscitate all the rehabilitation centers in Nigeria.
He also thanked the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, His Excellency Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, for providing a conducive environment for the Alheri community and emphasized that the project would be replicated in all the Leprosy centres across the country.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the president on Disabilities, Alhaji Muhammed Abah Isah, described the occasion as remarkable and said the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu was paying needed attention to persons with disabilities.
Isah emphasized that President Tinubu had no agenda of leaving people with special needs behind and frowned at the stigmatization of the disabled community by some members of the society.
He appealed to Nigerians to always see PLWDs as those who needed care and regarded them as assets and not liabilities to the country.
On his part, the representative of the FCT Minister, Ibrahim Aminu Masari, said Yangoji remained part of FCT and must not be abandoned.
Masari, who is the Mandate Secretary of Social Development, said FCT under Nyesom Wike would not fail to include the community in the developmental agenda and applauded Dr Betta Edu for such laudable projects.
He advised the community to see the project as their own and to ensure adequate protection from vandals
Other speakers at the event included the Director, Social Welfare FCT, Dr Sani Umar and Head of Alheri community, Alhaji Dikko Dogo among others who commended President Tinubu and the minister for fulfilling the promise made, through the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities.
