JONAPWD decries neglect by Taraba govt

2,000 houses worth N11b underway for Nasarawa workers
Only eight of the 22,000 persons with disability in Taraba State were absorbed in the state’s civil service, says Joint National Association of Persons Living With Disabilities (JONAPWD).

The Secretary-General of JONAPWD, Taraba chapter, Aliyu Mohammed, yesterday, expressed sadness at the neglect of Persons With Disability (PWDs) by the state government.

He spoke to the media shortly after the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) trained his members on disaster management.

Stressing that 85 per cent of PWDs are learned, he wondered why the state government has not deemed it fit to carry them along.

Mohammed, who also lamented that none of his members was co-opted into the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Taskforce in the state, said: “We are left behind by the government for unknown reasons. We believe there is COVID-19 pandemic, but we were not carried along; none of us was nominated as a member of the task force that went round to ensure adherence to the precautionary measures.”

While calling on the government to include PWDs in its activities, he urged the Red Cross, to reaching out to the government on their behalf.

Responding, the Disaster Management Coordinator of NRCS in Taraba, Bello Joda, said the society would work round the clock to table PWDs’ demands to the governing board.

MEANWHILE, Nasarawa State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Family Homes Fund (FHF) and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to provide 2,000 houses worth N11 billion for civil servants in the state.

Speaking during the signing of the agreement, yesterday, in Lafia, Governor Abdullahi Sule said the agreement was part of the cardinal objectives of his government as captured in the Nasarawa State Economic Development Strategies (NEDS).

He said provision of housing was one of his administration’s policies to better the lot of civil servants, adding that civil housing would be provided for servants earning below N100,000 monthly.

Sule said the agreement would create wealth, employment opportunity, embark on development, boost economic activities in the state and shelter the less-privileged.

“When the work on the housing project commences, it will provide employment for over 20,000 youths, thereby taking them off the streets. This would help in addressing youth restiveness in the state,” the governor added.

Managing Director of FHF, Femi Adewale, lauded the state government for the partnership and promised that workers would enjoy from the initiative to make them proud house owners.

He described the MoU as a landmark achievement, as it would give them the opportunity to help provide houses for low and medium income earners, thereby improving the quality of their lives.