Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has presented mobility and hearing aids to persons living with disabilities in the Niger Delta region, assuring them of its commitment to their well-being and development.
The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku handed over the items, which included wheelchairs, sensor-guide canes, hearing aids and crutches, to persons living with disabilities during the maiden edition of the Niger Delta Disability Praise Festival held in Port Harcourt.
Ogbuku who was represented by the NDDC Assistant Director, Education, Health and Social Services, Dr Asela Agala, remarked that some physically challenged persons were very talented and gifted, stating that what such people needed were opportunities and support to live meaningful and sustainable lives.
He declared: “The NDDC has a robust welfare package for youths, women and persons living with disability and we have over the years rolled out programmes to address their challenges.”
The NDDC Chief Executive officer re-affirmed the commitment of the Commission to assist people living with disabilities to give them sustainable livelihoods, noting that NDDC was devoted to the overall development of persons living with disability.
In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disability Matters, Hon. Mohammed Abba Isa, commended the NDDC for supporting the efforts of the Federal Government in furthering inclusive policies and ensuring the development of a supportive environment for people with disabilities.
He said: “Disability is a mindset and nobody is immune to it. Anybody can have a disability at any point in time. We have 25 million persons living with disabilities in Nigeria and some of them resulted from accidents, diseases and age. We need an implementable legal framework that will safeguard the integrity of persons living with disabilities in Nigeria.”
Isa applauded the Federal Government for instituting a law; Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Prohibition Act 2019, which provides for the integration of persons with disabilities into the society and for constituting the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, NCPWD.
Isa said further: “It is important for us as human beings to understand that disability is part of the human condition and that all of us may become disabled in one way or the other during the course of our lives.”
Also speaking, the NDDC Consultant on the Niger Delta Disability Praise Festival, Hon. Timi Ziriki, urged the government at all levels to proactively create avenues for the inclusion of persons living with disability through their policies and programmes.
She lamented that physically challenged persons in the country, especially those in rural communities, usually suffered hardship, neglect, discrimination, deprivation and stigmatisation.
Ziriki, urged government and non-governmental organisations to always acknowledge the contributions of persons with disabilities to the society, noting that they should be given a sense of belonging.
She advocated that people living with disability should be given equal opportunity, especially in the area of employment, stating: “We should encourage them to actively participate, compete, interact and engage with others to showcase their talents, skills, and creativity.
